"Dream, Dream, Dream! Conduct these dreams into thoughts, and then transform them into action."
- Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
"Dream, Dream, Dream! Conduct these dreams into thoughts, and then transform them into action."
- Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
14 Apr 2017
In order to deter people from consuming tobacco, the government only needs to increase the taxes. It could save many lives as well.
This was revealed by a study which was published in The British Medical Journal. It said that South Asia, with a population of 1.1 billion adults has about 170 million adult smokers, most of whom are from India, and very low rates of cessation.
The results of the study show that the South Asian countries need to implement the World Health Organisation's (WHO) global tobacco control treaty, including high tobacco taxes, smoke-free public spaces, warning labels, comprehensive advertising bans and support for smoking cessation services.
The study was conducted by Prabhat Jha, Director, Centre for Global Health Research at St Michael's Hospital in Toronto. His report stated that there are many tobacco smokers in South Asia and the taxation rates are also very low. By implementing the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, particularly its tax provisions, the tobacco use could be brought down considerably, reducing it by at least one-third and this would save about 35-45 million lives.
Jha added that the cost of cigarettes, bidis and chewing tobacco is lower in South Asia than in high-income countries in the West because the excise taxes levied on these products is very low.
