Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan has urged Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley, to increase the excise duty on cigarettes of all lengths by Rs 2/stick to Rs 3.5/stick. He has also asked for a removal of tax exemption for bidi manufacturers.

''The proposal has been put forth by the Health Minister to deter the consuming population from smoking and discourage new smokers from starting its consumption,'' said ICICIdirect.

''We believe that, as proposed, if such a steep hike in excise duty is taken, cigarette volume growth for both ITC and VST Industries could witness a significant blow, impacting their revenues and margins,'' it added.

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