The ill-effects of white beedi

by Sarath DAMBAWINNE

To effectively combat the social and physical ills of tobacco smoking, it is imperative that regulatory authorities take operative measures to educate the public on all forms of harmful tobacco. A pack of cigarettes carry a printed government health warning on how smoking causes cancer, but what action has been taken to extend this warning to other tobacco-related products such as beedi and white beedi.

In addition, many retail and grocery outlets around the country carry government warnings on how the sale of cigarettes to anyone below 21 years is a punishable offence; but the same does not extend to the many illicit tobacco products that exist in our market.

The Sri Lankan tobacco market comprises the legal cigarette industry and a thriving illicit business including 'white beedi', which are rolled into the shape and form of a regular cigarette. Beedi is produced out of low quality tobacco, which is often far more harmful to health and is priced much lower than cigarettes, and demonstrates significant growth amongst Sri Lanka's rural consumers.

Smokers cough up significant revenue to government as detailed in the Annual Report of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka. Despite excise duty on a cigarette increasing by 18 per cent in 2010, with increasing tourism and access to liberated north and East markets, cigarette sales have grown over the past year. This amounts to Rs. 40.7 billion in tax revenue to the government of Sri Lanka and that is a growth of 8.2 per cent over the previous year. In 2001, the government earned Rs. 19.4 billion from duties on the legal tobacco trade, and the growth in tax revenue over the past decade demonstrates its significance to State revenues.

However, the illicit white beedi trade yields no form of revenue to government and its current unchecked proliferation could only result in the further loss of tax income, which could be used for national development initiatives.

White beedi has grown in popularity amongst the lower income earning rural populations. They are produced out of low-quality tobacco and filters to match the description of a regular cigarette, and is currently available under over 140 brand names in the market. By escaping the tax net, manufacturers are able to keep prices low as Rs. 2 a stick and a maximum of up to Rs. 5; depriving government of much-needed revenue.

Despite several initiatives taken by government to reduce the ill-effects of smoking through legislation and preventive action, the illicit white beedi trade flourishes dispensing low-quality more harmful tobacco products for smokers. The health impacts of such inferior products are adverse, and in turn results in additional health costs and loss of tax revenue to government.

Traders and consumers themselves could play a proactive role and support the government and its national development agenda by rejecting the sale of such inferior illicit products, as it only amounts as cost to the nation versus real saving.

White beedi is an illicit business, and its proliferation presents no real benefits to society at large, and government, regulators, local authorities and traders alike must play their part in preventing the growth of such illegal business.