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`Tobacco Bill grossly discriminatory'

Ch. R.S. Sarma

RAJAHMUNDRY, Aug. 9

THE proposed bill imposing curbs on cigarettes and other tobacco products is grossly discriminatory and it does not really address the problem, Mr A.C Sarkar, Director, Tobacco Institute of India, has said.

At the staff research council meeting of the Central Tobacco Research Institute (CTRI) which concluded here on Thursday, he said the Bill's name itself was indicative of its bias and it was intended mainly to impose curbs on cigarettes. ``Cigarettes acco unt for hardly 15 per cent of the total tobacco consumed in India and the other products 85 per cent. The restrictions on cigarettes would be applicable all over India but the States would have the discretion to decide whether the curbs on the other prod ucts should be implemented or not. So far, only four states have agreed to do so. Therefore, the Bill would mainly hit at the cigarette tobaccos and the Virginia tobacco cultivators in AP and Karnataka would be hit hard,'' he said.

He said the Bill would cover only 30 per cent of the population and hardly 15 per cent of the consumption. Cigarette tobaccos only had the export potential and ``the additional 15 per cent duty imposed by Mr Yashwant Sinha to contribute to the national c alamity fund has further driven down the demand for cigarettes, by 9 per cent.''

Mr Sarkar said in the crisis situation CTRI would have to help the farmers and the industry by striving for quality improvement and increase in productivity. ``Quality tobacco with less nicotine and tar content would have to be produced to meet the new r estrictions,'' he said. He said the Tobacco Institute had commissioned a study to evaluate the impact of the crop holiday in Andhra Pradesh last season on the market.

``Cigarette consumption has definitely gone down and the days ahead will be more difficult for the Virginia tobacco farmers and the industry,'' he said.