Bidis Account For 80 Per Cent Of Total Tobacco Smoked In India, Impose Loss Of Rs 80,000 Crore Every Year

Every year, India spends Rs 80,000 crore on ill health and early deaths due to smoking bidis whereas the tax revenue derived from it came to just Rs 417 Crore in 2016-17, a study has found. This cost of bidi smoking equal to 0.5 per cent of the GDP and about two per cent of the total expenditure on health, a study has revealed.

Some of the direct costs include doctors’ fees, tests, drugs, hospital charges, transportation etc. Indirect costs might come up to one fifth of the direct costs that include accommodation for relatives, loss of household income etc. The findings were published in the journal, Tobacco Control.

Based on the healthcare expenditures mentioned in the National Sample Survey Data, other data collected from Global Adult Tobacco Survey forms the foundation for the findings, The Tribune reported.

Nearly 20 per cent households in India face catastrophic health expenditure, which pushing around 6 crore into poverty every year. Rijo M John of Centre for Public Policy Research in Koch said, “Diseases associated with bidi smoking add to this, potentially pushing more people into poverty. Expenditure on tobacco also crowds out expenditure on food and education in India, especially among the poor.”

Bidis account for 80 per cent of the total tobacco smoked with 7.2 crore active users above age 15 in India.