Page 3 - Tobacco

Most tobacco quitters in India from Uttar Pradesh: NTQLS-VPCI survey

A survey of calls received by the central government's National Tobacco Quit Line Services (NTQLS) has shown that most of the tobacco quitters in the country are from Uttar Pradesh. The survey findings were released by the Vallabhbhai Patel Chest Institute (VPCI) on 'World No Tobacco Day' observed on May 31. The VPCI survey based on NTQLS data revealed that 71,39,473 interactive voice response (IVR) calls were received till April 30, 2023 since May 30, 2016. Out of the total number of IVR calls received by this centre, 20,43,227 calls were counselled, including 9,96,302 inbound calls, 26,80,657 outbound calls, and 3,91,160 registered by the call centre. Most of the callers were from the state of Uttar Pradesh, it said. According to the survey, 1,56,644 (40 per cent) individuals studied had successfully given up tobacco use. Of these, the maximum 1,23,508 calls were received from Uttar Pradesh. Dr Raj Kumar, director, Vallabhbhai Patel Chest Institute said, I would like to work wi

WHO stresses on policies to help tobacco farmers shift to growing food crop

On the eve of World No Tobacco Day, WHO on Tuesday called upon its partners to support governments in developing policies to help tobacco farmers shift to growing food crops that would provide them with a better life culminating in supporting national economies and ensuring food security. Effective tobacco control involves tackling demand and supply as envisaged in the WHO Framework on Tobacco Control (FCTC), said Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, the WHO Regional Director for South-East Asia. While the focus of tobacco control programmes is on reducing tobacco demand, the strategies to reduce its supply need to be balanced with the demand reduction for achieving an overall reduction in tobacco use prevalence, she said. The theme of this year's World No Tobacco Day is "We need food, not tobacco". The campaign aims to raise awareness about alternative crop production and marketing opportunities for tobacco farmers and encourage them to grow sustainable and nutritious crops. It also aims a

Meghalaya health authorities rope in religious bodies on tobacco awareness

Health authorities in Meghalaya have turned to religious leaders to seek their help in spreading awareness on tobacco-related cancer, officials said on Wednesday. Meghalaya records about 8,000 deaths per year due to cancer out of which 70 per cent are tobacco-related cancer cases, they said. The state also has a record 131 cancer cases per 1 lakh population and this is ten times the national average, cancer surgeon at the North East Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences Dr Caleb Harris told PTI. At the institute alone, about 1200 cancer cases are recorded annually and about 750 800 cases are tobacco-related cancer cases, he said adding that esophageal cancer, the most prevalent in the state, is caused by use of tobacco, alcohol and betel nut, and hence is preventable. Involvement of religious leaders would go a long way in this regard as they are in a position to influence the masses effectively. It was imperative, NEIGRIHMS director Nalin Mehta said a .

Health Ministry to launch 60-day 'Tobacco Free Youth Campaign' on May 31

The Union Health Ministry is planning to launch a 60-day pan India campaign on the theme 'tobacco-free youth' on May 31 which will focus on taking steps to prevent initiation of tobacco use among youngsters and assisting users to quit. Tobacco use has declined but data reveals that its use is still unacceptably high among adolescents and adults in India. According to the Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS), current tobacco use among young adolescents (1315 years) in 2019 was 8.5 per cent and in the previous round (2010), it was 14.6 per cent - a decline of 42 per cent. Several initiatives like 'tobacco-free educational institution' are part of the campaign being planned for World No Tobacco Day observed on May 31. In a letter, Joint Secretary of the Health Ministry V Hekali Zhimomi urged states and Union Territories to conduct special drives for enforcement of the provisions of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commer

Elaichi ads or chewing tobacco surrogates?

The prevalence of surrogate advertising for chewing tobacco during the IPL is raising questions about who is responsible for oversight and enforcement

Delhi HC upholds ban on the manufacture, sale of gutka, pan masala

Noting the "direct and pernicious impact" of smokeless tobacco on public health, the Delhi High Court Monday affirmed a ban imposed by the food safety commissioner on manufacture, storage and sale of gutka, pan masala, flavoured tobacco and similar products in the city. A bench headed by Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma set aside a September 2022 decision of a single judge of the high court quashing the ban and allowed the appeals filed by the Centre and Delhi government against it. The court opined that there "existed no justification" for the quashing of the notifications and dismissed the objections raised by entities in tobacco business against the prohibitory notifications issued from 2015 till 2021. "We find ourselves unable to sustain the impugned judgment rendered by the learned Judge. These appeals shall consequently stand allowed. We find no merit in the challenge raised in W.P.(C) No. 3362/2015 (against the ban). It shall, in consequence, stand dismissed," said the ...

Tobacco in gunny bags to attract 28% GST, 71% compensation cess: AAR

No new product emerges from the post-coating process, rules authority in Gujarat

Centre allows sale of excess tobacco produced by registered growers

The government on Saturday said it has allowed sale of excess tobacco produced by registered growers on auction platforms for the crop season 2022-23. It has also permitted sale of unauthorized tobacco produced by unregistered growers without any penalty on the platforms in Karnataka for the crop season 2022-23. "Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal has considered to allow the sale of the excess flue cured Virginia tobacco produced by registered growers and unauthorized flue cured Virginia tobacco produced by unregistered growers without any penalty considering the low production during the 2022-2023 Karnataka Crop season," it said. In Karnataka, during this crop season, 40,207 farmers cultivated FCV tobacco in an area of 60,782 hectares. The total production of FCV tobacco in Karnataka remained at 59.78 million kgs against the crop size of 100.00 million kgs fixed by Tobacco Board , due to continuous rains during months of June and July 2022. The decision of imposi

GST Council to discuss GoM reports on tax evasion by gutkha firms on Feb 18

The GST Council in its meeting on Saturday is likely to discuss setting up appellate tribunals and mechanism to curb tax evasion in pan masala and gutkha business, sources said. The report of panel of ministers on Goods and Services Tax (GST) on online gaming and casinos may not come up for deliberation at the February 18 meeting of the GST Council, chaired by Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman and comprising her state counterparts. The items, which could not be discussed by the Council in its last meeting on December 17, 2022, would top the agenda of the 49th GST Council meeting on February 18, the sources said. The report of the Group of Ministers (GoM), headed by Odisha finance minister Niranjan Pujari, on checking tax evasion by pan masala and gutkha industry would be taken up for discussion. The report of the GoM on Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunals (GSTATs) was set up in July last year under the chairmanship of Haryana deputy chief minister Dushyant Chautala.

Economists, health experts pitch for higher taxes on tobacco products

Economists and public health experts have welcomed the duty hike on cigarettes in this year's budget and pitched for higher taxes on more tobacco products to make them unaffordable and India tobacco-free in "Amrit Kaal". The hike in national calamity contingent duty on cigarettes by 16 per cent clearly shows the government's intent to further strengthen the tobacco control policy and levy higher tax on "sin" products that claim more than 13 lakh lives in the country every year, noted economist and BJP spokesperson Gopal Krishna Agarwal said. Participating in a discussion on "Amrit Kaal: A Journey towards Tobacco-Free India", organised by Tobacco Free India, a citizen group platform, Agarwal said a hike in prices on such harmful products through tax policy is the most effective way to reduce tobacco consumption. "This can be done by implementing 'triple A' concept: cutting down 'affordability' and 'availability' of tobacco items by hiking tax while making people 'aware' of its harmfu

Consuming nicotine in pregnancy raises risk of sudden infant death: Study

Infants whose mothers have used snus, a moist oral tobacco product, during pregnancy ran three times the risk of sudden infant death, according to a new comprehensive registry study. The risk was much lower if the mother had stopped taking snus before the first antenatal visit, the study said. The researchers, from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, concluded that all types of nicotine products should be avoided during pregnancy. The study is published in the journal Pediatric Research. "Fortunately, the incidence of sudden infant death is very low, but we can see that taking snus or smoking while pregnant is associated with an increased risk," said Anna Gunnerbeck, paediatrician at the Astrid Lindgren Children's Hospital and researcher at the Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet. While it is known that smoking during pregnancy is a risk factor in sudden infant death, little research has been done on snus and other nicotine products, the study

No amount of alcohol 'safe', even low consumption hikes cancer risk: WHO

The agency has previously found that alcohol causes at least 7 types of cancer, including the most common cancer types, such as bowel cancer and female breast cancer

Govt okays Rs 28 cr to extend interest-free loan to tobacco farmers in AP

The government on Wednesday said it has approved Rs 28.11 crore to extend the interest-free loan to tobacco farmers of Andhra Pradesh. This measure will help the FCV (Flue Cured Virginia) tobacco farmers overcome the damage caused by Mandous Cyclonic rains, the commerce ministry said in a statement. The interest-free loan to the eligible farmers will be administered by the Tobacco Board, it added. "Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce and Industry, has accorded approval for Rs 28.11 crore to extend a special interest-free loan @ of Rs 10,000 to each member of Tobacco Board's Growers' Welfare Schemes under Southern Regions (Southern Light Soil and Southern Black Soil) of Andhra Pradesh from the Tobacco Growers' Welfare Fund, which will directly benefit 28,112 farmers," it said. FCV tobacco is a major commercial crop grown in 10 districts of Andhra Pradesh, with an annual production of 121 million kg (2021-22) grown in an area of 66,000 hectares. It is the major exportable tobacco vari

Economists urge hike in tobacco tax for reaching PM's $5 trn economy vision

A substantial hike in tax on all tobacco items and stronger laws will not only bring the best out of human capital by ensuring better health of citizens, but also help in achieving Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of a five trillion dollar economy by 2025, experts have asserted. Noting that the health care burden due to tobacco consumption in India is around 1.04 per cent of GDP, pushing many into poverty, Arvind Mohan, Professor and Head, Department of Economics, University of Lucknow said a substantial increase in tax on these lethal items will close the gap. Speaking at a webinar, he echoed views of the World Health Organisation (WHO) as well as many other international bodies like World Bank that tobacco taxation is an efficient tool, reducing tobacco consumption faster than any other single measure. Mohan explained that presently, health is a big challenge for human development as at least 70 per cent of the health expenditure is being met by the public themselves, while .

Rise in cigarette taxes, first EU-wide vaping levy on the cards

The changes to legislation, part of a push by Brussels to cut smoking rates, will increase the EU's minimum excise duty on cigarettes from 1.80 euros to 3.60 euros per pack of 20

Marijuana, vaping may be as harmful to heart as cigarettes, says study

E-cigarettes and marijuana may have harmful effects on the heart similar to those caused by tobacco cigarettes, opening the door to abnormal heart rhythms, according to a study conducted in mice. E-cigarettes and heated tobacco products have become popular because the public perceives them as being less harmful than smoking, the researchers said. Similarly, legal recreational marijuana has become more common in recent years, and is also frequently viewed by the public as being safer than smoking tobacco, they said. "We found that cigarettes, e-cigarettes, and marijuana greatly interfere with the electrical activity, structure, and neural regulation of the heart," said study lead author Huiliang Qiu, a postdoctoral scholar at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) in the US. "Often, any single change can lead to arrhythmia disease. Unfortunately, these adverse effects on the heart are quite comprehensive," Qiu said. The study, published in the journal Heart Rhythm, expo

Nicotine in 1 cigarette stops women's brains from producing estrogen: Study

This may explain a variety of behavioural differences in smokers, including the reason why women have a higher resistance to quitting than males.

Both CGST and excise duty can be imposed on tobacco products: Karnataka HC

The Karnataka High Court has ruled that the Union government is entitled to levy Central GST (CGST) as well as excise duty on tobacco and tobacco-derived products. It dismissed a bunch of petitions by tobacco manufacturers who had challenged the same. "The levy of excise duty on tobacco and tobacco products is a matter of public policy and this court in exercise of writ jurisdiction would not interfere with the same. The CGST itself contemplates levy of excise duty upon tobacco and tobacco products apart from they being taxed under the provisions of CGST," Justice M I Arun said in the recent judgment. The Dharwad bench of the HC heard petitions by Ghodawat Packers LLP, H I Tamboli and Sons, Rajnandini Foods Pvt Ltd, Balajee Pouches, Ghodawat Foods International Limited and Ghodawat Industries India Private Limited, against the Ministry of Finance, Union of India and Joint Commissioner of CGST and Central Excise. The Joint Commissioner on March 25, 2021 issued an order imposing exci

Centre issues new set of health warnings for tobacco products packs

The government notified new sets of specified health warnings for all tobacco product packs by making an amendment in the Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products (Packaging and Labelling) Rules, 2008

E-cigarettes, flavored tobacco worth Rs 14.6 lakh seized in Mumbai; 11 held

The Mumbai Police on Friday seized electronic cigarettes and flavored tobacco worth over Rs 14.60 lakh after raiding 12 places in the city and its suburbs, and arrested 11 persons, an official said. The action was carried out by the Crime Branch control of the Economic Offences Wing (EOW), he said. As many as 11 persons were arrested in connection with the case, he said, adding a probe was underway. "Considering that the youth in Mumbai are consuming electronic cigarettes which are harmful to their health, the CB control of the EOW Branch raided 12 places & seized e-cigarettes worth Rs 14,60,420 and registered a case against them," the Mumbai Police tweeted.