City health experts pitch strong actions from the government
Mumbai : Highlighting the health risks associated with tobacco use and advocating for effective policies to reduce tobacco consumption, health experts and panelists at Tata Memorial Hospital (TMH) on Thursday gave deep insights and shed light on ‘Stopping illicit trade of tobacco products’. City doctors claimed that considering the rise in the tobacco-related cancer deaths in the country, this is a burning issue and need of the hour which needs strong actions to be taken on the end of the government.
Availability of cheap tobacco products through illicit trade undermines all the public health activities to curb tobacco consumption in the country, say doctors. Following which, health experts ask for better uniformity of taxation policies, licensing for the bidi manufacturers. Dr Prakash Gupta, president of Action Council Against Tobacco, said “One of the consequences of further delay in implementing the notified warnings covering 85 per cent area of tobacco products adds to problem of illicit trade in our country.”
Speaking on the matter, Rajeev Jalota, commissioner of sales tax Maharashtra, said “We understand that illicit trading is a huge issue and we need to regulate our policies in order to free the country from the tobacco menace. However, we will try to shift the focus of the bidi manufacturers to other profession and skill them in order to protect them from health hazards.”
The tobacco industry and criminal groups are among those who profit from the illegal tobacco trade, leaving the public to pay the health and security costs. Dr Pankaj Chaturvedi, surgical oncologist at TMH, said, “Tobacco industry has consistently used the bogey of illicit trade to misguide policymakers from appreciating the real benefit of increase of Value Added Tax (VAT) in their respective states. We need more strong actions and implementations by the government. We need to regularise our tax policies for the better future of our young children.”
