Jammu, March 2 (IANS) Jammu and Kashmir Governor N.N. Vohra has written to state Finance Minister Abdul Rahim Rather asking him to raise taxes on cigarettes and other tobacco products to discourage their use.

The governor took this step after receiving a representation from a voluntary organisation seeking his intervention to get taxes raised on tobacco products in the state budget.

Rather is to present the state's 2011-2012 budget March 7.

"The governor has endorsed the representation of the voluntary organisation," according to a Raj Bhavan spokesman.

A memorandum to the governor from A.M. Mir, executive director of Jammu and Kashmir Voluntary Health and Development Association in Srinagar suggested "that the rate of Value Added Tax (VAT) on cigarettes and other tobacco products may be raised in the State budget to discourage tobacco consumption, he said.

While sending this memorandum to the finance minister, the governor observed that "it would go a long way in curbing the consumption of tobacco if the request made by the J&K Voluntary Health and Development Association gets reflected in the ensuing Budget."