Tobacco is legalized
in Bhutan due to the risk associated with the global pandemic. Most claims has
been made so as to support the idea that it has actually helped in reducing the
black money in the country. However, there are no fixed facts and figures which
justify how far it has actually helped Bhutan and Bhutanese people. Kuensel,
Bhutan’s leading newspaper has made numerous stories on how people smuggled in
the products before the tobacco legalization bill was passed as an act. On the
other hand, some of the ways in which the legalization helped are; firstly,
there is significant decrease in the number of crimes in the country, also the
number of people trespassing across the Indian border has reduced, furthermore
the tobacco products are made available to consumers at a cheaper rate.
Legalization has not
only been appropriate action, but also it has reduced the rate of crimes
exponentially. According to news media ‘The Bhutanese’ it was found out that
the crime rates associated with smuggling reduced drastically to only 5 percent
from the day the tobacco was legalized. The outlets does not cut the supply
chain which makes it easier for consumers to buy and consume in affordable
rates unlike in the past where many sellers used to make a huge money from
illegal sale of tobacco. In 2020, many smugglers from Phuentsholing and Thimphu
were caught and penalized, however from the day it was legalized. There were
hardly any people who had to face these consequences.
The main source of
tobacco products is India, especially the bordering town of Gelephu,
Phuentshoilng and Samdrup jongkhar. Most of the dealers were seen to be
importing the tobacco products from these areas. That is why after careful
studies, the security in these places was scruntinised and made strong so as to
curb this illegal smuggling coupled with the risk of bring in the virus into
the country. However, one the legalization was done, most people did not have
to depend on the illegal import rather, they could buy in cheaper rates from
the outlets. This has drastically reduced the numbers of people trespassing
across the Indian border. The state media Kuensel reported that, by the end of
july 2021, there were no cases of people trespassing for the purpose of
importing illegal tobacco. This has proven enough the legalization has actually
helped the people and the country to curb this many problems.
One of the most
important advantages of legalization is how consumers are benefitted. According
to a survey conducted by Kunensel, people are now happy with outlets letting
them buy any products in the rates Indian usually use to sell before the
pandemic hit. This was seen mainly due to the tax free tobacco coming from
india. This has benefited people from all walks of life because, before it was
legalized, most people were disgruntled with the heavy price on cigarettes and tobacco,
with cigarettes almost costing 500 for a packet. This has now been made easier
with outlets selling at cheaper rates of almost 100 to 150. Basically, what the
legalization has done is, it has reduced black market and black money following
into the country in an unprecedented rate.
Many people were
happy with legalizations of tobacco. This was evident to all because many state
media also covered the news on these topics. This was seen as an important step
towards making virus free country and now there are zero positive cases in the
country. It is all due to this idea which helped people to stay calm in their
own houses without going out much and also preventing smugglers practice the
purchase and sell of tobacco.
-Basu Dev Acharja
-Sherubtse,RUB
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