This refers to the report "Your cigarette now costs 44 per cent more" (June 28). Smoking is injurious. What is not clear is whether the government is using the high duty rate to dramatically reduce the consumption of an unhealthy item, or just trying to maximise revenue out of the tobacco addicts. If reducing threats of serious ailments such as cancer or heart-lung related ones is the prime target, then one wonders why there is no duty on bidis, raw tobacco and so on. These are even more dangerous than cigarettes with filter. Higher cost of cigarettes will drive users to bidi, zarda, gutkha, khaini and other varieties. Governments are, in fact, mouthing moralist reasons and happily raking in the moolah. The cigarette-smoker pays through his nose, first to the tobacco giants and then to the doctors.
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P Datta, Kolkata
Letters can be mailed, faxed or e-mailed to:
The Editor, Business Standard
Nehru House, 4 Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg
New Delhi 110 002
Fax: (011) 23720201 · E-mail: letters@bsmail.in
All letters must have a postal address and telephone number