Thanks to Arun Jaitley’s latest Union Budget, smoking has become more expensive in more ways than one. Now, I don’t claim to be an expert to understand the intricacies and economic policies behind the decision, but if something which cost 120 INR a couple of years ago, now costs 220 it means that something is screwed up and terribly wrong somewhere in the system. The price rises in the cigarettes every year have been so steep off late that even the real estate prices seem like a midget in comparison. 

I tried to google a bit to know why this is happening, but there isn’t much available online, at least not authentic sources of information, but from whatever I could gather, this is because cigarettes aren’t an essential commodity and smokers are looked down upon so much so that the government feels like the Tobacco industry is the punching bag to slap surrealistically high excise duties, since there won’t be any obvious or vociferous outrage against it. This is not a cause that will be deemed to be worth fighting for, or even just raising your voice against, since everyone and their cousin know that smoking is injurious to health, a point driver down your throat at the start and the intermission of every damn movie you watch over the weekend.

Before any of you tch tch this article with self-righteous indignation or shake your heads vigorously in Brahminical horror at this sacrilege, let me make it clear that this rant, in no way justifies or promotes smoking, nor is this a call for price reduction for cigarettes, instead this is only, essentially an attempt to understand the reason behind this unbelievable phenomenon of price rise. In the process, if one needs to call a spade a spade, then so be it, but I for one, refuse to believe that the costs of production for cigarettes have increased so drastically to prompt such rises almost every 6 months. There have been protests against almost everything that the country has taken fancy with but this one has escaped everyone since only a little minority of 5.7% of India smoke(84 mm ones) and even if such a situation arises, no one would air such protests or support them. This is like the battle of the blind with the omnipotent, and no wonders who is winning. Will there ever be a voice raised against this? And would it be considered?

And for the people who argue that the increase in the price of cigarette reduces smoking, it is like saying the productivity of Indians decreases every time Sachin Tendulkar comes out to batting by 28% (or some random number). Sure, it makes funky reading but it is absolute codswallop which can never be supported by any evidence, statistical or otherwise. On the contrary, if a hypothetical question might be asked as to what happens if the price of cigarettes is reduced by half. Would it increase smoking miraculously overnight? Don’t answer me. Question your premise.