New Delhi: Public health advocates, including physicians and economists, have urged the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council to levy a 28 per cent tax on beedi. They have asked the GST Council to list beedi in the category of harmful products and the highest GST rate should be taxed at the highest rate of 28 per cent. They has said that this will save millions of lives.

Shiv Sena's 53rd foundation day, Maharashtra's next CM will be from which party?

They also demanded that harmful substances like tobacco be retained within the 28 per cent tax net. He praised the decision to keep cigarettes and smokeless tobacco under the 28 per cent tax net, while also asking for a 28 per cent tax on beedi to be classified as harmful material. Experts say that the 28 per cent tax will not only reduce its consumption but also increase the revenue of the government.

BJP MP's write letter to LG says traffic rising due to mosques in Delhi

At Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai, cancer doctor Dr. Pankaj Chaturvedi has said, "More taxonomy on tobacco effectively reduces its use in people who are prone to addiction. Surprisingly, beedi is not kept in harmful items whereas it is as harmful as cigarettes," he said, adding that "beedi kills 10 lakh people every year in the country and the diseases caused by it also put an economic burden on the country."