Puffed up claim
Voluntary organisations and activists campaigning against the use of tobacco received a massive boost during the 16th International Cancer Congress held in Delhi last fortnight. The Congress focused on tobacco-related hazards and several papers presented at the occasion pointed out that the economic burden of tobacco-related diseases far outweigh the contribution of the tobacco industry to the country's economy. India's tobacco industry has traditionally touted its contribution to the national exchequer by way of duties (about Rs 3,000 crore annually) and it employs nearly 7 million people.
At the Congress, this claim was debunked by a study presented by Kamal Chaudhury on behalf of the Indian Council of Medical Research. Based on a country-wide survey, the study estimated that patients suffering from tobacco-related diseases -ranging from oral cancer to chronic obstructive lung diseases - spend between Rs 2,700 to 3,250 every year on diagnosis and treatment.
As there are nearly 7.5 to 8 million such patients in the country at any time, Chaudhury calculated that the expenditure on the patients was close to approximately Rs 2,400 crore. If the expense borne by the state-funded health establishment is taken into account, the overall expenditure on this count could be "reasonably estimated to be well beyond the revenue contribution of the cigarette industry'.
Representative organisations of the tobacco industry declined immediate comment. However, health ministry officials opined that the nascent moves within the government to impose a complete ban on cigarette advertising will become more vigorous after the Congress.