Jan
23
The editorial of Times of India claimed that the rich Industrial countries shifted the demon of cancer to India by banning cigarettes in industrialized countries, hence pushing cigarette companies to India.[1]
It all seems nationalistic, like the supporters of ban on cigarettes are the true well-wishers of man-kind, more of Indian man-kind.
What these people forget is smoking is not new to India. Indians are smoking since ages, smoking afeem, using bhang are too common for Indians. They also forget that India is third largest producer and exporter of tobacco.
Again, the editorial of Times of India claims that by the advent of cigarette companies, cancer rates increased in India.[1]
As a matter of fact, it can not be true. Scientific studies suggest that Cigarettes are much less harmful than local Bidi’s. We all know that Indians consumes Bidis more even now. Thus, if cancer is increasing it is more because of Bidis. To blame cigarette companies for that is ill-sense. Better cigarettes can surely save the smokers from the dangers of smoking filter less and unchecked cigarettes.
So how valid is the Idea of government to announce bans on smoking?
According to the Director of Tobacco Institute of India (TII) Mr. Udayan Lal,
“High rates of taxation on cigarettes are forcing consumers to shift to cheaper and alternate forms of tobacco consumption. As a result, overall tobacco consumption is increasing, as the price of other tobacco products is very low,”[2]
Thus, by banning or increasing taxes on cigarette companies, government not only increases the rates of lung cancer, it increases the consumption of tobacco too making it a decision causing double disaster.
What if government increase hyper-taxes on tobacco, will it help?
Banning or restricting any thing never helps anybody, yet it increases black-marketing, it increases smuggling, and to counter all that, government will need a new force to control smuggling and black-marketing of Tobacco. In addition, black-marketing always increases consumption because it provides the demanded goods at much less price than the governmental prices.
Thus, even if government announces extreme high tobacco taxes, making even the Bidis too much expensive, it will not help anybody.
Yet it will make many people die of hunger and starvation in poverty.
According to reports, 25% families in and around Mangalore city are dependent on Bidi making[3])
In India, 34 per cent of tobacco consumption is in the form of bidi. Snuff and chewing tobacco account for 35 per cent whereas 22 per cent of tobacco use is in the form of cigarettes. Bidi making is a large Industry in India, 1.5 million workers were employed in bidi making in 1990. According to the data on the number of workers in the bidi industry released by the Ministry of Labour, Government of India, the number of bidi workers in the middle of 1997 was 4.4 million. Therefore, between 1990 and end of 1997, the number of workers in the bidi industry grew almost threefold.[4]
Can government force this large Industry and the people involved to go out of business and employment? How logical it is?
Is it the case that by increasing taxes on Cigarette making companies, Indian government is promoting Bidi making Industry of India? 
Let us check the validity of such move by government. In order to help national small scale industry of India, it bans or increases taxes on cigarette making companies. It will make smokers to opt for smoking bidis using gutkhas and other local cheap tobacco products which are much more dangerous than Bidis, furthermore it will also force people to keep increasing involvement in vibrant Bidi making industry which itself is hazardous.
Thus, any such move by government is anti-poor, anti-Indian.
In addition, one another move by government is to ban smoking on public places like trains, bus, etc. In general, such bans never help public, although these bans become a way for police to grab money from poor. It provides an incentive for police to catch poor person smoking in general compartment of trains, or on roads etc and harassing him, robbing him some Rs 5/- or Rs10/-.
What if government bans smoking in private property too. If you smoke in your home, you get jailed or pay a fine of Rs1000/-
Overall study shows that any sort of intervention in the tobacco market by government will cause havoc alone and will increase the rate of cancer.
On the principle of individual freedom, those who are worried about the perils of smoking have every right to work to persuade — but not force — others to choose not to smoke. Yet, the anti-smoking movement run by the government is anti-liberty, it is against the principle of Individual freedom, and that is why, in any case, it will never work but will worsen the situations.
May be that is the reason why The Delhi High Court on Friday[5] struck down the Center’s October 2006 notification banning smoking scenes in films, saying onscreen
Smoking was part of an artist’s creative license. Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul strike down the rules framed by the Center saying-
“Director of films should not have multifarious authorities breathing down their necks when indulging in creative act.”
I say, if government gets over its useless drive against cigarettes and cigarette making companies, it will reduce the dangers of Lung Cancer in India. Government must not intervene in Market.
Footnotes:“I like to think of fire held in a man’s hand. Fire, a dangerous force, tamed at his fingertips. I often wonder about the hours when a man sits alone, watching the smoke of a cigarette, thinking. I wonder what great things have come from such hours. When a man thinks, there is a spot of fire alive in his mind — and it is proper that he should have the burning point of a cigarette as his one expression.”
Ayn Rand Atlas Shrugged
- The Fag End, Editorial Times of India [↩] [↩]
- Express India [↩]
- Bidi Rolling in Rural Development, Study conducted in Karnataka [↩]
- Ministry of Labour Report on Bidi workers [↩]
- “Smoking in films allowed Delhi High Court rules” Times of India, 23rd of January 2009 [↩]
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1 views9 Responses to “Banning Cigarettes increases rate of Cancer”
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city of night Says:
January 24th, 2009 at 2:36 amThe fine rate on public smoking is 200/- not 10/- or 5/- . If a bus driver is caught smoking a 5 rupee pack of beedis he is fined the same, regardless of his paying capacity.
Public places that used to have outdoor “smoking zones” have been directed to abolish those. You can not carry cigarettes in the public transport as the metro, even if you surrender the lighter or matches.
In fact, if the govt. recognizes that smokers exist in public, then where are they supposed to disappear to, in order to pursue the activity in public? Actually the ban is on a public meeting of smokers. The health ministry probably has nothing better to do than declare laws that create official taboos.
A “ban” loses it’s importance by being used on activities that hardly endanger the public. It is very agreeable to “ban” kissing in public, rather than banning use of violence. The govt. is playing the morality card, nothing else.
Grasshopper Says:
January 24th, 2009 at 1:46 pmYour write -up sounds reasonable and logical. However, the reason that I stopped smoking was that my kid did not like it. He told his grandparents that I smoked. And, I am now thankful to him for all the fresh air I breathe.
Secondly, regarding bans. I was in Ahmedabad for a couple of years and it was too difficult to get booze. Now, when my hubby leaves town with two bottles of beer in the fridge, he finds them as he left them : full.
So whatever you say, I am thankful to bans, for my own life has become better of it.
Oh, and by the way, I have posted a write-up on how to stop smoking -chakra logic, if you are interested. :)
Unpretentious Diva Says:
January 24th, 2009 at 2:23 pm@ Grasshopper
Well, It is a good change if you have left smoking.
Sure smoking is NOT good for health.
I am not a smoker, I smoked in class ninth/tenth I guess during school life, just to see why the smokers smoke, or better say,I had a school going boyfriend who used to be a chain smoker and I wanted him to stop smoking, so I vowed that if he smokes, I will also smoke.
Ultimately we brokeup, after school, we never met too, and I never missed him too. Yet I found nothing in cigarette which could make me addicted to it, or even like it.
Yet, its my personal taste.
I am not against smokers or smoking, though I wish that they get rid of their addiction atleast, they may smoke socially/occasionally.
And yep I will read your post, and will recommend my friends who want to quit smoking to read that too :)
Jinu Says:
January 25th, 2009 at 1:28 amGirl, your blog sure as hell is one of the finest Bhopali blogs I’ve seen. Keep it goin. :)
Jinu Says:
January 25th, 2009 at 1:42 amwe are both online it seems! Yep.
I’ll see you around (the blog) !
Anurag Says:
January 25th, 2009 at 7:52 pmMaybe its a case of Mind over Matter. Most other mortals will find cigarettes to be addictive because of the Nicotine.
Perhaps then it will be time for a revolution V for Vendetta style?
On a philosophical note, Ayn Rand has said it. As a college student I have heard stories of legendary smokers who have made it MIT and managed feats like brewing the perfect coffee.
I could not agree with you more.
But in choosing the lesser of two evils, banning public smoking is the way to go. I don’t smoke but have closely seen my friends turn into occasional smokers. Before they become mildly addicted to it, the were drawn to it just for the sake of Style and the cool-dude image in public. They would bear the burning sensation of the tobacco smoke with a smile. People are drawn to smoking because the dude holding fire in the hands on the billboard is cooler than the self.
And when you begin smoking you will find reasons like
- “it’s to shake off my stress”
- “sherlock holmes smoked”
- “nothing like smoke after sex” (ok ill ya this one) …
… while there are perfectly safe and better alternatives than smoking for all the above.
The main reason people are drawn to the cig is the image it carries with itself and a public banning by law counters it in a direct way, instead of going in a round about way of demonizing smokers and cigarettes via advertisements. (For every cigarette you smoke, somewhere 7 kittehs are getting crushed under the wheels of a car)
Anurag Says:
January 25th, 2009 at 8:01 pmoh and hi again, due to personal projects I had to cut down on the time I spend on blogging. When I get into debates, I start loosing my sleep :O
Unpretentious Diva Says:
January 25th, 2009 at 8:18 pmI never inhaled that much to make my nerves addicted to nicotine.
I don’t think people believes in no-sense advertises that much. Although it may make a case.
Simple thing is, it is freedom of the model to what advertize he works. If Akshay kumar works for Red $ White or wills made for each other, its his freedom.
If Amitabh bachchan choses to do an add for Puls Polio, its his free decision.
As a private enterpriser, you may support advertises to demonize smoking, many others will advertise for popularizing smoking, and I see it no wrong.
Infact, it may make many Bidi users to somehow leave Bidis and turn on to ciggs which definitely are less dangerous. Also, that will make ciggs cheaper.
And anyways, smoking cigarette can never be as dangerous as chewing tobacco, beetle leaves + tobacco, gutkhas etc. plus it saves roads with those red collage the gutkha/tobacco chewers creates every now and then here and there.
India Matters Says:
January 30th, 2009 at 10:46 pmhey, that’s a valid point that the government intervention would just worsen things, but there are countries which have taken these steps, and tobacco related diseases have dropped. I walk in a pub, and its good to see the place smoke free. I like your point of view, the 14th World Conference on Tobacco or Health is being held in Mumbai in march. In conjunction with that, Salaam Bombay, the NGO organizing this event, wants to know what you think about it. The common man, their opinion on tobacco, so it could be taken up with the policy makers who are coming down for the event. If you have anything to say on this matter, please do leave a comment on the site - http://www.indiamatters.co.in/
Cheers,
Nice blog too…
Bhavika :)