Voice of Tobacco Victims for hike in tax on bidis

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, February 5

Members of the Voice of Tobacco Victims (VoTV’s), an awareness campaign against ill-effects of tobacco products, have written to the Chief Minister and Finance Minister, Punjab, to raise taxes on all tobacco products in the upcoming budget. 

“Raising tax on tobacco products is one of the most effective ways to fight this menace, said VoTV’s chairman, Dr Prahlad Duggal. He said different studies undertaken worldwide had proven this fact. 

The VoTV letter states: “It will also show the commitment of the state government in the fight against the drug menace. Tobacco and alcohol are the gateway substances from where an addict can graduate to other drugs.” Dr Duggal said though the CM had assured to further raise the tax on cigarettes, there was a need to bring bidis under the tax raise ambit. 

The state government had earlier increased VAT on cigarettes from 22.5 per cent to 33 per cent. “Sparing bidis and chewable tobacco from tax raise is like pushing the people from lower socio-economic strata towards death. By keeping bidis, which are the poor man’s addiction, the government is not actually helping the poor. It is like providing cheaper poison to them,” said Duggal. 

As tobacco is the main cause of many types of cancers in the body, raising taxes on all tobacco products will help saving many lives in the state. He said, “When Punjab is facing an epidemic of cancer and the government is spending so much on the treatment of cancer patients, cheaper tobacco products defy the logic.”