Tobacco Epidemic in India

What’s in today’s article?

• Background
• Awareness, Legislative Provisions and Initiatives Taken by the Government w.r.t. Tobacco
• Challenges Associated w.r.t. Curbing Tobacco Consumption
• Way Ahead

Background

• Tobacco is a major cause of preventable disease and death worldwide.
• It harms both users and those who grow it.
• With around 26 crore users, India has the second highest number of tobacco users after China.
• The health of over 60 lakh workers in the tobacco industry is also at risk due to skin absorption of tobacco.
• Tobacco farming harms the environment by depleting soil nutrients and causing deforestation.
• Processing tobacco requires a lot of wood, and its production generates a significant amount of waste.
  • Up to 5.4 kg of wood is required to process 1 kg of tobacco.
• In 2017-2018, the health impacts of tobacco cost India over ₹1.7 lakh crore, far exceeding the ₹48,000 crore health budget for that year.
• Additionally, cleaning up tobacco waste costs around ₹6,367 crore annually, not including the costs of soil erosion and deforestation.

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Awareness, Legislative Provisions and Initiatives Taken by the Government w.r.t. Tobacco

• Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC)
  • Launched in 2005, the FCTC aims to reduce tobacco usage worldwide by helping countries develop demand and supply reduction strategies.
  • India is one of the 168 signatories of the WHO’s FCTC programme.
• COTPA Act, 2003
  • COTPA stands for Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply, and Distribution).
  • It has 33 sections governing the production, advertisement, distribution, and consumption of tobacco.
• National Tobacco Control Programme (NTCP)
  • India also launched the National Tobacco Control Program (NTCP) in 2007.
  • NTCP is designed to improve the implementation of COTPA and FCTC, improve awareness about the harms of tobacco use, and help people quit it.
  • Apart from these interventions, tobacco taxation — a globally accepted method to effectively control tobacco use — is also applied in India.

Challenges Associated w.r.t. Curbing Tobacco Consumption

• Poor Implementation of Existing Measures
  • Smokeless tobacco products often don’t follow the packaging rules set by COTPA, and smuggled tobacco products are poorly regulated.
  • Fines for breaking these rules are outdated, with companies only facing a maximum fine of ₹5,000 for their first violation.
  • COTPA bans direct tobacco ads but is unclear about indirect ads, leading to surrogate advertisements.
• These ads use products like elaichi to promote tobacco brands indirectly.
• For example, during the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023, there were surrogate ads for two tobacco brands, endorsed by famous cricketers. These ads indirectly encourage tobacco use.
• NTPC’s Lack of Effectiveness
  • A 2018 study reported no significant difference in the reduction of bidi or cigarette consumption between NTCP and non-NTCP districts.
  • Possible reasons for this included insufficient staffing, resource allocation, and utilisation, and lack of effective monitoring mechanisms.
• Tax Evasion
  • The Indian government’s attempts to tax tobacco have been hindered by tax evasion, such as buying tobacco in areas with lower taxes and illegal activities like smuggling, illicit manufacturing, and counterfeiting.
  • Tobacco taxes in India are low and haven’t kept up with rising incomes, making tobacco products more affordable over the years.
  • A 2021 study found that cigarettes, bidis, and smokeless tobacco products had become more affordable in the past decade, and the shift to the Goods and Services Tax system made these products even cheaper.
  • Tax burden of 51% for cigarettes, 22% for bidis, and 64% for SLTs, much lower than the FCTC’s recommendation of at least 75% tax.

Way Ahead

• India has strong laws (COTPA, PECA, NTCP) to control tobacco use and production, but they need stricter enforcement.
• Additionally, tobacco taxes should be increased to match recommendations, inflation, and economic growth.
• The government can also help tobacco farmers switch to other crops, preventing job losses.
• Studies show that crops like jowar can be more profitable than tobacco.

Up-to-date data on tobacco use is essential to counter industry tactics and effectively control tobacco. Without this data, efforts to manage tobacco use will fall short.

Q1. Which is the best soil for Tobacco?

A majority of the tobacco is grown on loamy sand or sandy loam soils with an available water-holding capacity between 0.7 and 1.5 in. of water in the root zone.

Q2. Does tobacco naturally contain nicotine?

While nicotine naturally occurs in the tobacco plant itself, some tobacco products contain additives that may make it easier for your body to absorb more nicotine.

Source: The tobacco epidemic in India