NEW DELHI: A new print advertisement has been released by the Health Minister Harsh Vardhan to mark the World No Tobacco Day.

The advertisement features cricketer Rahul Dravid, India’s brand ambassador for Tobacco Control. 

The report on “Economic Burden of Tobacco Related Diseases in India” supported by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, and the WHO Country Office for India, was developed by the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI). The report estimates direct and indirect costs from all diseases caused due to tobacco use and four specific diseases namely, respiratory diseases, tuberculosis, cardiovascular diseases and cancers.

The report highlights that tobacco use and the associated costs are creating an enormous burden for the nation. The total economic costs attributable to tobacco use from all diseases in India in the year 2011 amounted to a staggering Rs 1,04,500 crore. Looking through GDP lens this is 1.16 per cent of GDP and 12 per cent more than the combined state and central government expenditure on health care in 2011. According to the report, massive direct medical costs of tobacco attributable diseases amount to Rs 16,800 crore and associated indirect morbidity cost of Rs 14,700 crore. The cost from premature mortality is Rs 73,000 crore, indicating a substantial productive loss to the nation, the report states.