The government may ban the sale of loose cigarettes as a move to reduce the usage of tobacco and related projects. A standing committee at the parliament has advised the government to ban the sales of loose cigarettes as well as the closing of smoking zones in airports. As per the reports, the government will ban the sales of loose cigarettes before the announcement of the union budget next February. As per the Cigarettes and other tobacco products act, all tobacco products without statutory warning can be considered illegal and their sale is prohibited. Loose cigarettes can also come under this category. The government has been actively trying to reduce the usage of tobacco and related products among the population over the past few years. India has over 267 million tobacco users and this move could possibly affect the numbers.
The government has previously banned the use of e-cigarettes and has also increased the taxes and GST on tobacco products to their historical high. But the smokers have not taken the taxes on the products seriously and the numbers never decreased. The World Health Organization(WHO) has suggested India increase the tax rates on tobacco products by 75 percent. Tobacco usage in India had not significantly decreased after the tax increments which now forced the government to take more efficient measures. WHO has also pointed out the alarming rates of mouth cancer among the Indian population and suggested control of tobacco usage.Many states like Maharashtra and Karnataka had already banned the sale of loose cigarettes
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The government hopes that the ban could reduce the usage of tobacco products but analysts are having a different opinion. The reason is that when loose cigarettes are not available, smokers will be forced to spend their money on packet cigarettes like Godfrey and Altria. The argument becomes even more thought-provoking as the cigarette stock prices have hiked following the reports on the ban on loose cigars. Stocks of Godfrey cigarettes hit their all-time high price yesterday. While the preparations are going on backstage, let's hope that the move could control tobacco usage in our country. The Statistics on tobacco usage are also alarming. Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said that 13,92,179 cancer cases were reported in 2020; 13,58,415 in 2019; and 13,25,232 cases in 2018. This shows that the number of lung cancer cases is increasing in our country year by year. To control this rate, the reduction of tobacco usage is a must. Mouth cancer cases are also increasing in the country. So, the ban on loose cigarettes could possibly reduce the numbers in the upcoming years. Let us hope for the best.
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