Rise in inflation and addiction a side effect of Covid

The Covid pandemic has not only taken away the happiness, health, wealth and employment of people around the globe, its side effects are coming out in many other forms too. During the lockdown period, the addiction of alcohol and tobacco products increased wildly all over the world. Due to Corona, the system was disrupted on every front in most parts of the world and there was a huge rise in inflation everywhere. India's economy may have started returning back on track, but it will take many months to get everything back as before. Inflation has increased in all countries due to the pandemic restrictions. During the lockdown, the production of many things decreased, but after the lockdown was lifted, the demand for all the things suddenly increased in the market. This is the reason why inflation went up all of a sudden. For example, in many countries there is still a shortage of workers on various fronts. For this reason, there is not enough production of palm oil in Malaysia. The prices of soaps, oil, shampoo, biscuits, cosmetics, namkeen etc. have increased multifold due to the increase in palm oil prices.
 
With the rise in the price of crude oil, the cost of sea freight and delivery of goods has also increased. Due to this, the prices of chemical fertilisers, paints, rubber and synthetic yarn etc. have increased. Transportation of goods by sea has become expensive. Due to labour shortage in China, industrial metals like brass, copper, steel, nickel and cobalt have become expensive. This has affected the prices of products like TV, refrigerators, ACs, washing machines and other electronic gadgets. Similarly, climate change has affected the supply of agricultural products in many countries, such as the less sugarcane crop in Brazil for the same reason. As a result, the price of sugar has increased. Due to the lockdown due to Corona, the production of semiconductor or chip decreased, due to which the production of cars and many electronic products like fridges, TVs, washing machines etc. has been affected.
 
According to the World Health Organisation, 3 million people die annually in the world due to excessive alcohol consumption. Alcohol-borne diseases account for 5 percent of the world's expenditure on treatment of diseases. Similarly, 8 million people die every year due to tobacco consumption. These include 1.2 million people who do not use tobacco themselves, nor do they smoke cigarettes, but who live with those who smoke regularly. According to an estimate, 1.3 billion people in the world smoke or consume other tobacco products. A study conducted in Britain found that in the first lockdown itself, more than 40 percent, about 4.5 million, people started consuming alcohol. There is a ban on spitting in public places across India. Despite this, there are people who do not follow the rule and keep spitting here and there. Due to this, not only the government buildings, but the railway is also worried. The Indian Railway has to spend 1200 crore rupees every year to remove the spit stains. Water is also wasted in the process. For the convenience of those spitting after chewing gutkha, spitter kiosks are being set up at 42 stations in the country, where spittoon pouches will be available.

(Author is a senior journalist & columnist)