STUDENTS URGED PRESIDENT, PRIME MINISTER AND FINANCE MINISTER TO INCREASE TAXES ON TOBACCO PRODUCTS ON NATIONAL YOUTH DAY TO SAVE LIVES
Guwahati,Rongili Barta- Students, Youths today urged the President, Prime Minister and Finance Minister on National Youth Day to increase taxes on all tobacco products in the upcoming budget of 2023-24. To celebrate the National Youth Day, Consumers’ Legal Protection Forum, Assam in association of Consumer VOICE, New Delhi & Seuj Axom organized a event on the theme “Increase Tobacco Tax Saves Lives” and formed Human Chain at Kamrup Academy Higher Secondary School, Guwahati premise and appeal to the President, Prime Minister & Finance Minister to increase excise duty on all tobacco products. According to the students, increasing excise on all tobacco products can be a very effective policy measure to address the immediate need to raise revenue by the Central Government. It will be a winning proposition for generating revenue and reducing tobacco use and related diseases. Attending the Human Chain Advocate Ajoy Hazarika, Secretary, Consumers’ Legal Protection forum says that ‘Some of the major suggestions made to the President, Prime Minister and the Finance Minister by these youth groups include significantly increasing the existing tax burden so that tobacco products become unaffordable by the vulnerable (especially the youths) Tax-induced price increases effectively reduce incidences of tobacco- related deaths while generating substantial additional tobacco tax revenues, which can be utilised for national health priority like strengthening Ayushman Bharat Programme and Fit India Movement. “Tobacco uses not only harms our health but it is also a threat to the health of our friends and family. Additionally, tobacco users also have a greater risk of developing severe cases of cancer, by making them unaffordable we can save youth from deadly tobacco” said in the program by Kaberi Borah, Principal, Kamrup Academy Higher Secondary School. Bishal Das & Dipankar Chaudhury, student of Kamrup Academy Higher Secondary School, Guwahati said that “To discourage the usage of tobacco products I urge the Government to raise taxes on all tobacco products to make them unaffordable so that children and teens are not going to fall into the trap of the cheap tobacco products. India has the second-largest number (268 million) of tobacco users in the world. The recent Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS-2019) shows that nearly one-fifth of the students aged 13-15 years are consuming tobacco in some form. Also, in India, on an average, children as young as 10 years start tobacco consumption. The total direct and indirect cost of diseases attributable to tobacco use was a staggering Rupees 182,000 crore which is nearly 1.8% of India’s GDP.