Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention

Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention (아시아태평양암예방학회)
권호 표지
DOI QR코드

DOI QR Code

The Single Cigarette Economy in India - a Back of the Envelope Survey to Estimate its Magnitude

  • Lal, Pranay (The Union South-East Asia Office, International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union)) ;
  • Kumar, Ravinder (The Union South-East Asia Office, International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union)) ;
  • Ray, Shreelekha (Voluntary Health Association of Tripura) ;
  • Sharma, Narinder (Himachal Pradesh Voluntary Health Association) ;
  • Bhattarcharya, Bhaktimay (Government of Assam) ;
  • Mishra, Deepak (Socio Economic and Educational Development Society (SEEDS)) ;
  • Sinha, Mukesh K. (Madhya Pradesh Voluntary Health Association) ;
  • Christian, Anant (Faith Foundation) ;
  • Rathinam, Arul (Pasumai Thaayagam) ;
  • Singh, Gurbinder (The Union South-East Asia Office, International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union))
  • Published : 2015.08.03
Download PDF
⟨ Previous Next ⟩

Abstract

Background: Sale of single cigarettes is an important factor for early experimentation, initiation and persistence of tobacco use and a vital factor in the smoking epidemic in India as it is globally. Single cigarettes also promote the sale of illicit cigarettes and neutralises the effect of pack warnings and effective taxation, making tobacco more accessible and affordable to minors. This is the first study to our knowledge which estimates the size of the single stick market in India. Materials and Methods: In February 2014, a 10 jurisdiction survey was conducted across India to estimate the sale of cigarettes in packs and sticks, by brands and price over a full business day. Results: We estimate that nearly 75% of all cigarettes are sold as single sticks annually, which translates to nearly half a billion US dollars or 30 percent of the India's excise revenues from all cigarettes. This is the price which the consumers pay but is not captured through tax and therefore pervades into an informal economy. Conclusions: Tracking the retail price of single cigarettes is an efficient way to determine the willingness to pay by cigarette smokers and is a possible method to determine the tax rates in the absence of any other rationale.

Keywords

References

  1. Aruna DS, Rajesh G, Mohanty VR (2010). Insights into pictorial health warnings on tobacco product packages marketed in Uttar Pradesh, India. Asian Pac J Cancer Prev, 11, 539-43.
  2. Binu VS, Subba SH, Menezes RG, et al (2010). Smoking among Nepali youth-prevalence and predictors. Asian Pac J Cancer Prev, 11, 221-6.
  3. British American Tobacco (1986). World cigarette market trends, marketing intelligence department, Millbank, UK.
  4. British American Tobacco. India-In-store marketing analysis. http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/nre97a99. [accessed on 22 February 2014].
  5. British American Tobacco (2006). The Sensible Regulation of Tobacco-British American Tobacco's Views. http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/zye51a99/pdf. [accessed on 22 February 2014].
  6. ERC (1997). The World Cigarette Market-The 1997 Survey Report Extracts, http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/gjm55a99. [accessed on 12 March 2014].
  7. Euromonitor International (2012). Tobacco-India report, May 2012; available at www.euromonitor.com. [accessed on 19 August 2013].
  8. Euromonitor International (2012). Country report, Tobacco in India. http://www.euromonitor.com/tobacco-in-india/report. [accessed on 21 December 2013].
  9. Indian Infoline (2013). http://www.indiainfoline.com/Research/Recommendations/Equity/ITC-Ltd-Q3-FY13/40168205. [accessed on 12 March 2013].
  10. IL and FS Investmart (2008). ITC-The Mammoth rules. http://s3.amazonaws.com/zanran_storage/www.investsmartindia.com/ContentPages/48685963.pdf. [accessed on 12 March 2013].
  11. Jha P, Jacob B, Gajalakshmi V, et al (2008). A nationally representative case-control study of smoking and death in India. N Engl J Med, 358, 1137-47. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMsa0707719
  12. Karinagannanavar A, Raghavendra B, Hemagiri K, Goud TG (2011). Awareness about Pictorial Warnings on Tobacco Products and its Impact on Tobacco Consumers in Bellary, India. Asian Pac J Cancer Prev, 12, 2485-9.
  13. Reddy K S, Gupta P C, eds (2004). Report on tobacco control in India. New Delhi, India: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. http://www.who.int/fctc/reporting/Annex6_Report_on_Tobacco_Control_in_India_2004.pdf. [accessed on 12 March 2013].
  14. World Health Organization (2009). Summary Report on global progress in implementation of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. Geneva, Switzerland.
  15. World Health Organization (2012). Summary report on global progress in implementation of the WHO framework convention on tobacco control. Geneva, Switzerland.