Reddy and Naidu

The report in this newspaper that both Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S.R. Reddy and the state’s opposition leader, Chandrababu Naidu, want health warnings on beedi packets to be “smaller” says something dreadful about Indian politics: even rational policymakers, as Reddy and Naidu are, can unabashedly do the bidding of the worst kind of lobbies, never mind potential costs to the public. Every study on Indian smoking habits has demonstrated that beedis are more injurious than cigarettes, that the health costs from smoking in India are high, in part because the majority of smokers prefer the inferior method to satisfying their habit. Since most beedi smokers are poor, the data holds a special message for politicians.

Of course, this newspaper doesn’t advocate government interference in personal choice. Neither do we argue that politicians who don’t actively campaign against smoking deserve to be criticised. But India, like every other major country, has been using various means of persuasion, like bigger health warnings on cigarette and beedi packets. Politicians who oppose it, and do so not out of some dearly held aesthetic-libertarian principle but because beedi manufacturers are unhappy, deserve strong condemnation. Indeed so transparent is Reddy’s and Naidu’s lobbying that these otherwise smart politicians have even forsaken forms-sake consistency — they should have demanded health warnings on cigarette packets be made smaller too either.

The new economy hasn’t yet produced a new politics. Politicians still think they must speak boldly for vested interests. So, while films, books, TV commercials and dance bars are thought to be dangerous for Indians, beedis apparently deserve less regulation. Similarly, the pricing policy on alcohol makes beer and wine, which are better for health, more expensive than hard liquor. When Sharad Pawar had suggested that wine be made available cheaply and relatively freely, gasps were heard across the political class. Notice the silence now.