Despite the Narendra Modi government adopting measures to curb cigarette smoking and tobacco consumption in India, the prices of the nicotine sticks in India's financial capital - Mumbai - are at least six times cheaper than in Melbourne, according a recent survey.
According to the 'Worldwide Cost of Living 2015' survey by The Economist Intelligence Unit, the average price of 20 branded cigarettes is $2.85 or around Rs 178 ($1=62.5) in Mumbai, compared to $18.96 or around Rs 1185 for the same in Melbourne.
The average prices in Bengaluru are even cheaper at $2.82 per or around Rs 176 for a packet of 20 branded cigarettes, as per the survey.
As many as 9 lakh people in India die from tobacco-related diseases every year, and that number could jump to 15 lakh by 2020 according to the International Tobacco Control Project estimates.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his first full-year Budget last month raised excise duty on cigarettes by 25 per cent for cigarettes of length not exceeding 65 mm, and by 15 per cent for cigarettes of other lengths.
Australia is known to be one of the more stringent countries when it comes to anti-smoking campaigns. All cigarette packs in Australia have a standardised design, without any logos and health warnings and graphic images on them.
India too has pictorial warnings on its cigarette packs, but logos, branding etc. are allowed.
With a view to curb smoking, the Indian government last year in November moved a step closer to banning the sale of loose cigarettes as the Health Ministry accepted the recommendation of an internal panel.
(With Reuters inputs)
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