Open AccessTaxation and prices of smokeless tobacco products in India: A success story
Author(s) -
Jagdish Kaur,
Rohini Ruhil
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
indian journal of public health/indian journal of public health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.381
H-Index - 26
eISSN - 2229-7693
pISSN - 0019-557X
DOI - 10.4103/ijph.ijph_132_19
Subject(s) - smokeless tobacco , tobacco control , consumption (sociology) , tobacco industry , business , convention , tobacco harm reduction , china , product (mathematics) , treaty , public economics , environmental health , tobacco use , public health , economics , medicine , political science , population , social science , geometry , nursing , mathematics , sociology , law , pathology
India is the second-largest consumer of tobacco in the world, second only to China. The World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) is an evidence-based treaty which consists of demand reduction and supply reduction measures. Article 6 of the WHO FCTC requires the Parties to implement tax policies and where appropriate, price policies, on tobacco products so as to contribute to the health objectives aimed at reducing tobacco consumption. The article aimed to analyze the association between taxation structures of smokeless tobacco (SLT) and the prevalence of SLT use at the country level. The article concluded that just as cigarettes, SLT taxes, and prices are also key factors in controlling the demand for SLT products. It calls for uniform taxation across all types of tobacco products for effective and sustained impact and also to prevent product substitution.