Tobacco Industry

Not tobacco ban, new therapies key to combating lung cancer: Nobel laureate

The key to combating lung cancer is the development of novel immunotherapies and diagnostic techniques and not a complete ban on tobacco that is impossible to enforce, says American Nobel laureate Harold Varmus. Varmus won the 1989 Nobel Prize in Medicine - along with American immunologist Michael Bishop -- for the discovery of gene mutations that can lead to the transformation of a normal cell into a tumour cell and result in cancer. Dwelling at length on lung cancer, the leading cause of death due to cancer globally as well as in India, Varmus said, "Trying to prohibit tobacco or to ban tobacco entirely is a mistake because we know that you can't enforce complete prohibition. That is the kind of thing that leads to various forms of crime and it doesn't work." "I don't think bans work very well. But I do think that not just in India and every country, including the US, where we still have 18 per cent of our population smoking, we have people using nicotine vapes instead of ...

Rise in cigarette taxes, first EU-wide vaping levy on the cards

The changes to legislation, part of a push by Brussels to cut smoking rates, will increase the EU's minimum excise duty on cigarettes from 1.80 euros to 3.60 euros per pack of 20

Tobacco player VST logs 22% sales growth in quarter ended Sept 30

Tobacco and cigarette manufacturer VST Industries registered a 22 per cent growth in sales and logged 15.4 per cent growth in net profit in the quarter ended September 30, 2022

WHO raises alarm on tobacco industry environmental impact, human health

WHO revealed new information on the extent to which tobacco damages both the environment and human health, calling for steps to make the industry more accountable for the destruction it is causing

Indian Tobacco Association urges govt to extend RoDTEP benefits to tobacco

Indian Tobacco Association on Thursday said it has urged the government to include tobacco under the tax rebate scheme RoDTEP with an aim to encourage exports from the sector

Avg annual revenue collection from tobacco products at Rs 53,750 cr: FM

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday told the Rajya Sabha that the average annual revenue collection, including GST and excise duty, from tobacco products, stands at about Rs 53,750 crore. In reply to a question, the minister also said the GST rates, including compensation cess rates, on goods are fixed on the basis of the recommendations of the GST Council. Answering supplementary questions, she said many non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and consumer education forums have suggested to increase levies on tobacco products considering the health impact. "In the GST Council, we have formed a Group of Ministers (GoM). It has been given the terms of reference to see if on the capacity of a producing unit, where evasion is high, we can consider looking at an increase in the price. "Such items like tobacco have also been put into that list... We will wait for the GoM to come back with its recommendations," she said. Prasanna Acharya (Biju Janata Dal) had asked her if the .

Farmers' body asks PM Modi to withdraw bill on cigarette, tobacco

Farmers' body asked PM Modi to recall the proposed bill to amend the law regarding cigarettes and other tobacco products

Traders ask PM to drop 'harsh' norms on sale, promotion of tobacco products

New proposals like booking of retailers selling loose cigarettes and 7 years of imprisonment, are unacceptable, traders argued

Cigarette makers fume as govt proposes changes to anti-smoking law

India has over the years introduced tobacco controls and launched campaigns to deter its use, but enforcement of the law has been a challenge

World's largest cigar producer enjoys boom amid Covid-19 lockdowns

Already the world's largest cigar producer, Dominican Republic is on track to export a record $1 billion worth of tobacco products this year

A missed opportunity: ITC could build India's digital, agri-business model

A cash-strapped New Delhi, which is delaying fiscal support to an economy expected to lose a 10th of its real output this year to Covid-19, also needs to rethink its stance

Godfrey Phillips India in focus; shares advance over 14%

For the quarter ended June 2020, Godfrey Phillips India's consolidated net profit dropped 53.56 per cent to Rs 55.10 crore.

Saddled with Rs 1,700 cr stocks, farmers demand restart of tobacco auctions

Urge govt to direct Tobacco Board to coordinate with FCV tobacco manufacturers, exporters and traders to facilitate reasonable prices at pre-covid level at these auctions

Why high cigarette taxes hurt the economy

Loss of jobs due to increase in smuggling and counterfeiting is not on the radar of policy makers

Tax hike on cigarettes has led to other forms of tobacco consumption: ITC

ITC has said tobacco regulation should not be discriminatory to the cigarette industry, while asserting that the FMCG major has no plans to exit the segment despite its ongoing diversification. The Kolkata-based firm said taxes on cigarettes have "increased by more than 200 per cent in last few years" which has resulted in smuggling of cigarettes and other forms of tobacco in India. "If you look at the figures of tobacco consumption in India, over a long period it has not gone down. Tobacco consumption has only increased," ITC CEO & Executive Director Sanjiv Puri said in a media interaction. From cigarettes, it has shifted to illegal cigarettes or to other forms of consumptions, he added. "Legal industry has lost volumes to illicit trade... I think that's the concern we have and we really say that regulation should not be discriminatory to the cigarette industry," Puri said. When asked if ITC, which is on a diversification drive into new areas, could exit

How big tobacco is losing the fight to stop plain packaging of cigarettes

The tobacco industry has faced numerous courtroom defeats of late