MPs try to butt ban on sale of loose cigarettes

The health ministry's proposal to ban the sale of loose cigarettes is likely to be shelved as it has run into stiff opposition from some MPs, Union ministers and farmers associations from tobacco-growing states.

At a meeting called by Union minister Venkaiah Naidu on Wednesday, Union health minister J.P. Nadda assured the MPs that he would look into all issues pertaining to tobacco and arecanut growers and the industry before taking any policy decision.

Union ministers besides MPs from the major tobacco-producing states of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka-Ananth Kumar and Nirmala Sitharaman and Mohanbhai Kundaria-were present at the meeting, where Nadda was asked to address all concerns and not to take any hasty step.

Naidu, who also discussed the issue with agriculture minister Radhamohan Singh, said that tobacco and arecanut are two important cash crops and in many parts, the livelihood of farmers depends on them.

The Parliamentarians were of the view that without providing suitable alternatives to cash crops in tobacco and arecanut-growing areas, farmers should not be penalised by introducing drastic regulatory measures, sources said. Senior officials said that an inter-ministerial consensus over the issue is also unlikely to evolve soon.

Naidu, who hails from Andhra, said that the proposed regulatory amendments will only result in shift in consumption from cigarettes to other cheaper tobacco products like bidis and chewing tobacco without curtailing overall tobacco consumption. Naidu added that he had convened the meeting after getting representations from tobacco-growing farmers associations in the two states.

India is the second-largest tobacco producer and its exports earns foreign exchange over Rs 6,000 crore annually. Nadda had told Rajya Sabha that his ministry had accepted recommendations of an expert panel constituted to give suggestions for reducing tobacco consumption that sale of loose cigarettes be banned and circulated a Cabinet note for inter-ministerial consultations.