UICC World Cancer Congress 2006

Objective: Is to enlighten the role of price elasticity i.e., rise in taxation on cigarettes& diversification as an effective tool in the tobacco control strategy. Methods: Tobacco cultivators had been the subject of frustration/ exploitation by the industry specifically in the years(1992,1997,2000) of excessive tobacco plantation/cultivation. In the years concerned there was a selective purchase of tobacco* reflected by the reluctance of cultivation in following years( 1993,1996&2001)this summed up to a lowered cultivation by 55%,52%& 50%respectively vs. previous years. The price of raw tobacco had an upstroke to the record level, as a consequence leading to the imbalance in the demand & supply of cigarettes. The change in the price elasticity had a negative impact on the buying power of poor/middle class income group(constituting about 70-75% of the smoker's population in the underdeveloped communities), besides this the incidental rise in excise duty by the local government on cigarettes has further added in its price. Results: Industry suffered in its incapacity to cope with inappropriate demand & supply in the following years, resulting in the jobs cuts in the sale& production sections. Therefore, Additional incentives were offered for motivation of tobacco cultivation. 1.Provsiion of free seeds for tobacco. .2.Easy term loans for farm cultivators. .3.Purchase of tobacco at a reasonable price than the previous years with instant payment to the cultivators. Conclusions: Subsides/encouraging diversification motives in association with taxation on cigarettes may prove as the key to tobacco control activity in reducing the pool of smoker's population.*Tobacco purchased from influential farmers