Ahead of the crucial GST council meeting on November 3, tobacco cancer survivors and researchers have urged the Council to include all tobacco products in the highest tax slab.
The proposed 'sin tax' rate of 26 per cent would be detrimental to both public health and the national economy, they argued.
The proposed rates would make tobacco products more affordable, thereby boosting consumption and leading to an increase in the incidence of grave, even terminal, conditions, including cardiovascular diseases and cancers.
In addition, they pointed out that the revenue from tobacco products would be significantly reduced.
Saju, a tobacco-induced oral cancer victim, said prices of all tobacco products should be kept high to both dissuade current users and prevent initiation of new users.
Tobacco use made Saju an oral cancer patient at the age of 30. He was treated with chemotherapy, surgery and radiation at Vandanam Medical College, Alappuzha, and is on regular follow-ups. The treatment, spread over a year, cost around Rs three lakh.
Dr Tiny Nair, Head of the Department of Cardiology, PRS Hospital, has long campaigned for imposing the highest tax rates on tobacco products.
"Taxing tobacco products is a proven way to reduce consumption as WHO studies have shown. A lower GST rate can accentuate the tobacco epidemic, driving up health care costs".
"The GST Council should tax all smoking and smokeless tobacco products at the highest rate. "This way, irreplaceable lives can be safeguarded from untimely morbidity and mortality', he said.
A press release quoting Dr Rijo John,Assistant Professor, IIT Jodhpur, said compared to a GST sin tax rate of 40 per cent, imposing a 26 per cent sin rate would reduce total tobacco tax revenue by almost one-fifth (17 per cent, or roughly Rs 10,510 crore) even if the government retains the current excise on tobacco products post GST.
NGO Voluntary Health Association of Assam (VHAA) Executive Secretary Ruchira Neog said the GST council meeting that concluded on October 20 last proposed a much lower 26 per cent GST sin rate which would have significant impact on the revenue as well as the health of the nation, both of which require serious consideration.
"The rationale for a sin tax is twofold - to pay for the damage caused to society by products like tobacco and secondly to increase the price and reduce their usage," Neog pointed out.
"A 26 per cent rate would defeat both purposes. It would significantly reduce current revenues from tobacco and would actually make tobacco products more affordable and encourage consumption, especially among vulnerable population including children and youth," she said.
According to the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS)-2010, Assam is a major victim of tobacco abuse with 39 per cent of adults in the state consuming some form of tobacco - cigarettes, bidis and smokeless (gutka, khaini, etc).
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