Should government bodies working towards public health invest in tobacco?
An article published in today's Times of India raises a pertinent question that is being debated the world over. Should countries who have ratified the framework convention of tobacco control (FCTC) treaty of the WHO, which states as it's main objective- public health as the main priority of the country, invest in the very cause of the problem? 'The tobacco companies that manufacture, distribute market and sell tobacco'
The Norweigen government that has been pro-tobacco control and has taken bold steps to curb the menace recently announced that the government would divest all of its shares from any companies that receive more than 5% of their profits from tobacco. Now that is a solid commitment towards public health. The Australian government recently rejected such a bill but has it's fair share of supporters.
So why exactly do government insurance companies invest in tobacco? Ofcourse strong and stable returns is a definite reason to invest in tobacco. Did you know that tobacco is probably one of the few companies that does well in times of war and recession. So we can understand why companies might want to invest in tobacco based on the returns and money they make(Not sure how they sleep at night though with all the invested money going into tobacco manufacture and in turn resulting in more cancer cases)
But the strong question still remains, is it ethical? As citizens of the country should we trust and believe in the health plans of a government that is in bed with the tobacco companies? Read in the article below the response of the LIC official. He says ITC is diversified and has social responsibility. How can a company with more than 70% of it's profits still coming from tobacco be diversified?
Should LIC invest in tobacco cos: NGO
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Mumbai: Should government-run companies invest in tobacco firms? This is the question that Voices of Tobacco Victims (VoTV), an NGO working for cancer patients, has raised after its recent query under the RTI Act revealed that the Life Insurance Corporation of India has invested up to Rs 3,500 crore in various tobacco companies.
“It’s the greatest irony that the government spends Rs 10,000 crore on treatment of tobacco-related illnesses while investing Rs 3,500 crore in the industry causing it,’’ said Dr Pankaj Chaturvedi, a senior cancer surgeon with Tata Memorial Hospital who is associated with VoTV.
On Thursday, VoTV circulated copies of the RTI reply from LIC dated July 15. LIC has mentioned that it has equity shares in tobacco major ITC Ltd worth Rs 3,561 crore, debentures worth Rs 50 crore in Dharampal Satyapal Ltd and equity shares in VST worth Rs 15.65 lakh.
VoTV wants the government to take an anti-tobacco stance especially since it was among the first to ratify the global anti-tobacco framework. The framework was worked out by the UN after it was medically established that tobacco products are harmful and could cause cancer.ITC no longer a tobacco co: LIC
Mumbai: Voices of Tobacco Victims (VoTV) has questioned the investments by government-run companies in tobacco firms. “Considering that over eight lakh Indians die every year due to tobacco-related diseases, the government should keep away from such investments,’’ said Dr Pankaj Chaturvedi, adding that the Norwegian government had taken such a stance.
LIC’s Vipin Anand felt that the issue was being blown out of proportion. “ITC Ltd can no longer be considered a tobacco company. It has diversified into FMCG, hotels, books, etc and it also has social responsibility programmes such as Chaupal for rural India. We have had its stocks for long and they carry a lot of weight in the stock exchange,’’ he said.
Regarding LIC’s investments in Dharampal Satyapal Ltd, he said, “Like ITC Ltd, this company
too has diversified immensely. It has a presence in the hospitality sector as well as infrastructure.’’ However, he added, LIC has been offloading its investments in the third company, VST Industries, since 1993.
