An NGO today criticised the Assam government for not increasing tax on bidis which is more harmful that cigarettes in its budget for this fiscal.
"The government pursues various steps to dissuade consumers of tobacco products and increasing the tax on such products is one such measure of the government, but there was no proposal to increase tax levied on bidis", said a release of the Institute for Public Health.
Making a demand to increase tax on bidis, the release quoted Dr Ashok Das, Assam state coordinator for Voice of Tobacco Victims and senior surgeon of Head and Neck department in Dr B Barooah Cancer Institute Guwahati, as saying bidi smoking is more lethal than cigarette smoking.
