Why India Decided to Sharply Hike Tobacco Taxes
More revenue and a way to discourage the nation’s 253 million users.
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Hello, this is Satviki writing from Mumbai, where the government has shaken the tobacco industry after announcing steep hikes taxes on cigarettes. More on that in a moment, but first ...
India, the world’s most populous nation, has a significant number of tobacco users. From local preparations like guktha — a chewable mix including tobacco — to hookah to cigarettes, the wide availability means over 253 million people here consume tobacco, the second-highest globally. It’s a burden costing the government over 2.4 trillion rupees ($26.7 billion) annually from diseases related to its consumption, according to the finance ministry.