Why is the "Death Machine" Not Banned in India?

Why is the "Death Machine" Not Banned in India?

Everybody knows cigarettes cause cancer.
They are literally a death machine.

So a thought hit me today.
Why the f*** is the Indian government not banning them?

They keep increasing the tax every single year. They put horrifying pictures on the box.
But they refuse to actually ban it.

I did some digging, and the reality of India's tobacco industry is a brilliant, terrifying business paradox.

Here is exactly why India will never ban cigarettes:

1. The ₹75,000 Crore Cash Cow
- The government is economically addicted to tobacco tax.
- Every single year, the tobacco industry generates over ₹75,000 Crore ($9 Billion+) in tax revenue for the country.
- If they ban cigarettes tomorrow, a massive chunk of India's tax income vanishes into thin air.

2. 45.7 Million Livelihoods
- This is the craziest number.
- The tobacco supply chain employs roughly 45.7 million people in India.
- That includes 6 million farmers, 20 million laborers, and over 7 million women rolling "bidis" in rural villages.
- If the government bans tobacco, they don't just lose money. They instantly trigger one of the biggest unemployment crises in modern history.

3. The Ultimate Conflict of Interest
- This is the part nobody talks about.
- ITC Limited is the undisputed king of cigarettes in India.

But do you know who owns a massive piece of ITC?

The Indian Government.

Through state-backed entities like LIC (Life Insurance Corp) and SUUTI (Specified Undertaking of the Unit Trust of India), the government actually owns nearly 24% of India's largest cigarette manufacturer.
They collect thousands of crores in dividends from ITC Limited every single year.

Why would they completely ban a company that pays them so much money?

The Brutal Reality:
Research shows that the healthcare cost of treating tobacco-related diseases in India is actually 8 times higher than the tax revenue collected.
But the tax money is immediate. The healthcare cost is deferred to the future.

So the government chooses to aggressively tax it, instead of banning it.

It is the ultimate Catch-22.
They want you to stop smoking, but the economy relies on you buying the next pack.

✍🏻 Mantra Joshi

Spotted a wrong number or something out of date? Tell me and I'll fix it.