India may Have to Reconsider Its Slant on Safer Tobacco Alternatives

Being the second-largest country for tobacco population, is India missing a public health opportunity for safer alternatives to tobacco?

The Indian government has been instrumental in implementing various tobacco control policies to regulate tobacco products over the last three decades. However, this doesn’t eliminate the failure of laws and policies for creating an inclusive approach towards tobacco control.

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‘Being the second-largest country for tobacco population, India might be missing a public health opportunity for safer alternatives to tobacco. Scientific data urge for implementing fair and effective measures to direct consumers' behavior towards cigarettes. ’

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Although the WHO’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control was endorsed in 2014 by India, it wasn’t followed widely. Hence, immense health and economic crisis prevail concerning tobacco in India.

Moreover, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) report exhilarated the Indian Government to ban safer alternatives of tobacco like e-cigarettes and other electronic nicotine delivery systems.

Disparity in Reaction

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Contrastingly, Chaiwut Thanakamanusorn, Digital Economy and Society (DES) Minister, Thailand declared his ideas to legalize e-cigarettes (to the Tobacco Authority of Thailand and tobacco growers) for the benefit of adult smokers in quitting real cigarettes.

The global economies have been reaping the benefits of complementing these safer alternatives in tobacco policies. Although vaping was legalized in 67 countries, it was banned in Thailand until 2014 with hefty penalties if illicit.

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However, the consistent and quality data by scientific studies allowed the country to explore a new transformation in its policies for the interest of public health.

It is estimated that 72,656 people died from smoking illnesses in 2017 in, Thailand as per a survey. Moreover, the Public Health Ministry of the country spends nearly 77 billion baht annually to treat smoking-induced disease and illness as per policymakers.

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Amidst this, a big question arises as to why the authority legalized the selling of real cigarettes, not to mention that the Tobacco Authority of Thailand (TAT) is a state-owned body. However, this doesn’t explain illegalizing the e-cigarettes on the contrary.

Need for Proper Measure

These data mandate the urgent need for the government to re-examine its public policy on smoking centered on health impact, the issue of the black market, freedom of choice, and the rationality behind hefty penalties on vaping.

Hence, the issue of e-cigarettes emphasizes the self-contradictory public policy on cigarette smoking – an incongruous fight between financial interest and health issue on each hand. Thailand's policy has tried to pursue both and ended up failing on both issues.

The health advocate camp rather calls for hefty tax rates on cigarettes to dissuade cigarettes consumption, especially for young and low-income consumers in Thailand. Many countries like the US and EU countries have benefitted from such enactment.

Although data on the health impacts of cigarettes versus e-cigarettes remain irrefutable, it is suggested that government leave the decision to people. Rather, implementing the need for all policy-makers to create a fair and effective mechanism to direct consumers' behavior is obligatory.

Source-Medindia