‘Union Budget 2021 was a missed opportunity to raise revenues from tobacco taxes’

In India, about 3500 people die every day from tobacco use and the economic burden from tobacco use amounted to Rs. 1,77,341 crore in 2017-2018, making it 1 per cent of India’s gross domestic product (GDP), the VHAI statement said.

Hyderabad: Since the implementation of GST in 2017, there hasn’t been a major increase in taxes on tobacco products and the Union Budget 2021 was a missed opportunity to raise significant revenues from increasing tobacco taxes.

In a statement, Bhavna B Mukhopadhyay, Chief Executive, Voluntary Health Association of India, said, “Increasing tax burden across all tobacco products in a pandemic year would have given a positive message that the government is serious about reducing consumption, addressing comorbidities of tobacco use as well as financing substantial public health and social sector spending in the current budget.”

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In India, about 3500 people die every day from tobacco use and the economic burden from tobacco use amounted to Rs. 1,77,341 crore in 2017-2018, making it 1 per cent of India’s gross domestic product (GDP), the VHAI statement said.

Dr. Rijo John, a health economist and adjunct professor at Rajagiri College of Social Sciences, said, “the government could’ve used tobacco taxes to finance a lot of public health-related spending announced in the budget while reducing tobacco use. Yet, it chose not to increase taxes on tobacco despite having done no major tax increases on tobacco for more than three years. This will only lead to more uptake of tobacco use in India as tobacco products continue to be highly affordable.”

 

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