Use of tobacco drains out Rs 35,000 crore from the Indian economy every year

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in the form of healthcare costs and productivity losses, according to a new study jointly conducted by The American Cancer Society and World Lung Foundation.

Excerpts from the yet to be released third edition of Tobacco Atlas, made available to the Financial Chronicle, say that India ranks second in the consumption of tobacco products, after China.

The direct and indirect cost of tobacco use in India account to $7.2 billion or Rs 35,000 crore. Direct costs pertain to health care expenses and indirect costs account to factors like productivity loss and absenteeism at work. Further, tobacco use leads to an estimated $500 billion drain from the world economy, the study said.

The global tobacco market, valued at $378 billion, is growing by 4.6 per cent and by 2012, it is expected to rise another 23 per cent, reaching $464.4 billion.

About 230 million men and 11.9 women consume tobacco in India. India and China together together consume over four times more tobacco products than any other country in the world. The study cautions that by 2010, tobacco will kill 6 million people annually, 72 per cent of which in low and middle-income countries, and the percentage is expected to rise to 83 per cent by 2030.

Reacting to the findings of the study, Hemant Goswami, chief coordinator of Tobacco Free India Coalition, an umbrella organisation of NGOs working against tobacco menace, said, “For a developing country like us Rs 35,000 crore is bigger than the total health budget. There is an urgent need to frame a long-term clear-cut plan as to phase out tobacco from the country.”

“In India, 6 million children aged four to 14 work full-time in the beedi industry and there are sufficient evidence that they are inflicted by diseases such as middle ear disease, respiratory symptoms, impaired lung function, sudden infant death syndrome and lower respiratory illness”, the study said.