No Drop in Tobacco Consumption: ITC

Source from:  timesofindia.indiatimes.com 2 Aug 2008 08/04/2008

The quantum of Tobacco consumption has not come down despite the Government increasing the tax on cigarettes, Indian Tobacco Company Chairman Y C Deveshwar said on Saturday. "It is going up in other forms like scented tobacco and Gutkha," he told reporters. He told newsmen here Tobacco was being sold in so many forms like Gutkha and Paan, which, he claimed, caused oral cancer, and were more dangerous. "Unfortunately all the attention was only towards cigarettes,which were less harmful with filters and all," he claimed He said government was only losing revenue by increasing the tax on cigarettes, and ITC's share in tobacco business had come down. In China where there was no increase in tax on cigarette the revenue from cigarette sale was steadily increasing, he said. The ITC is to invest more than Rs.4000-Crore in the hotel projects in the current year, and would also be going for joint ventures, he said. He said a 1.6 million sq.ft hotel was being constructed at Mount Road in Chennai, at a cost of Rs.1200 crore, and ITC hotels were coming up in Kolkata and Bangalore. The Bangalore hotel would be ready this year. "Wherever we have land we want to start a hotel. The availability of land is the only problem. We will be starting the construction of a hotel in Ahemedabad, while Hyderabad hotel was awaiting clearance from Supreme court," he said. Enditem