COTPA violations in monthly crime review

The Additional Secretary, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, GoI has asked the Kerala police to include violations of the Cigarette and other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 2003 or COTPA in short, in monthly crime reviews.

The Hindu, 30 Jan 2012

Read more ...

Anatomy of the cigarette smoke

Smoking a cigarette may be a style statement or a stress-buster to the 10.5% adult cigarette smokers in Kerala. But little do they seem to care about the toxic anatomy of cigarette and smoke away in mirth!

As can be seen from the inset image, the cigarette smoke produces a complex nature of chemicals.

A powerful insecticide, nicotine is poisonous for the nervous system. It leads to contracting and hardening of the arteries: the heart pumps more but receives less blood resulting in coronary attacks. Nicotine increases the consumption of lipids and induces temporary hyperglycaemia.

Carbon monoxide of the cigarette smoke leads to many cardiovascular complaints including narrowing of arteries, blood clots, arteritis, gangrene, heart attack etc. Tar causes the respiratory tract and lungs to turn black and is responsible for 95% of lung cancers.

Though cigarette manufactures claim that the amount of nicotine is much less than the unprocessed tobacco leaf, cigarette is an undoubted health hazard and killer.

Smokers, learn what you are getting into before you take the lethal puff!

Image courtesy: http://www.knowledgebase-script.com/demo/article-393.html

Read more ...

Chikni ... keep the 'Beedi' away!

'Agneepath', touted as one of the biggest films of 2012 was released to a thunderous box office response on the occasion of Republic Day. An action-packed film that has the right-proportioned ingredients for success, the grooving Chikni Chameli has helped  the film generate a mass following.

To come straight to the matter of our context, Chikni is heard saying twice in the energy-rich rendition, "Husn Ki Teelli Se Beedi-Chillam Jalaane Aayi ...". Keeping aside arguments like creative freedom of expression, this is clearly a marketing ploy to target the masses.

It is a matter of question if Chikni and her ardent followers who brought the film a collection of Rs.25 crores on the first day know the harmful effects of beedi.

Called the poor man's smoke or poor man's cigarette, beedi is a forest product that contains  finely ground sun-dried tobacco rolled in brown tendu leaf. The cheapest tobacco smoking product in the world, costing about a one-third of an US cent in India, a beedi contains about one-fourth the quantity of tobacco as a cigarette and yet delivers a higher amount of tar and nicotine.

Studies have proven that in India, mortality rates among beedi smokers were reported to be significantly higher compared to smokeless tobacco users or non-tobacco users. Beedis increase the risk of cancers, heart and lung diseases.

A household industry, bidi industry employs as many as 44,11,275 workers in India and 136,416 workers in Kerala (2001 estimates). The continuous exposure to tobacco dust increases the risk of cancer among beedi workers.

More inputs on beedis and its impact on health can be had from here

Chikni Chameli, keep the Beedi away!

Image courtesy - MoHFW website

Read more ...

'Light' or 'Heavy'- No reprieve for smokers

A day-long academic programme for higher education faculty members was in progress at a premier management institute in the capital city of God's Own Country. To help drive home the diversity of human perceptions, the resource person sought individual and quick responses for a common set of questions.

The first question was, 'XXX is a heavy smoker. How many does he smoke a day?'. Assumably, the responses were varied from the mixed group of smokers and non-smokers and fell within the range of 5-40 cigarettes a day. A lady participant described a heavy smoker as one who smoked '2 packets a day'. To which, the resource person asked her if she knew how many cigarettes were there in a packet and she replied 'I don't know'.

What emerges from this anecdote is that a good portion of people (smokers and non-smokers) are unaware of the relationship between the quantity smoked and its impact on health.

An interesting research that appeared in the British Medical Journal based on calculations of averages concludes that smoking one cigarette reduces a smoker's life by 11 minutes.

Extending the calculation further, a person who smokes 5 cigarettes a day for an year of 365 days stand to have a life reduction of approximately 14 days! A person who smokes 40 cigarettes (higher end of our discussion group) for the same period will lose life to the tune of approximately 112 days!!

Another study conducted in Norway covering 23,521 men and 19,201 women, aged 35–49 years has found that "smoking 1–4 cigarettes per day was associated with a significantly higher risk of dying from ischaemic heart disease and from all causes, and from lung cancer in women".

'Light' or 'heavy', smokers have no health reprieve!

Read more ...

53 percent tobacco users Vit-C deficient

A recent study has shown that around 53 per cent of tobacco users in South India are vitamin C deficient. Deficiency of Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) can cause anaemia, gum softness, delayed healing of sores and wounds, thyroid deficiency and diseases like scurvy. 

Vit-C is needed for the growth and repair of body tissues and helps the body in making collagen, an important protein found in skin, cartilage, tendons, ligaments and blood vessels.

The study, "Prevalence and Risk Factors for Vitamin C Deficiency in North and South India: A Two Centre Population Based Study in People Aged 60 Years and Over" involved over 5000 people aged 60 years or over in Gurgaon district, Haryana & Pondicherry (excluding the city) and Cuddalore district, Tamil Nadu.

The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Aravind Eye Hospital, Pondicherry and the All India Institute for Medical Sciences in Delhi, have collaborated in this study, funded by the Wellcome Trust.

The study finds that tobacco chewing was more common in the south (28%) when compared to the north (2%). Smoking manufactured cigarettes was rare in both locations (3%) but smoking beedies was higher in the north (39% compared to 9% in the south).

Chewing tobacco may have a more adverse effect on ascorbate levels compared to tobacco smoking because the tobacco quid is held in the mouth for a longer period of time.

The study also found a high prevalence of vitamin C deficiency in older people in India; 74% of those in the north of India and 46% in the south of India were deficient and a further 15% and 28% respectively had sub-optimal levels.

For the entire study, please see here

Image courtesy http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/art.27743/pdf

Read more ...

Pan masala sale banned within 400 metres of educational institutions

The Kerala Government issued a Circular in November 2011 banning the sale of pan masala and other addictive products within a radius of 400 metres of educational institutions. Vide this Circular, local bodies were directed to ensure that these restrictions are clearly recorded when issuing licences to business outlets. 

The Government issued an Order banning the sale of pan masala and other addictive products recently. 

Malayala Manorama, 19 December 2011

Mathrubhumi, 19 December 2011

15 Dec, 2011

Mangalam, 15 December 2011

Chandrika, 15 December 2011

Janmabhumi, 15 December 2011

Kerala Kaumudi, 15 December 2011

Mangalam, 15 December 2011

Siraj, 15 December 2011

Thejas, 15 December 2011

Read more ...

Wonder kid!

Satvik Vashisht is a wonder kid! The little one of five years has taken it upon himself to spread awareness about the ill-effects of tobacco.

Satvik has won well-deserved recognition from the Public Health and Safety Department of Municipality of Dubai, where he lives with his parents.

"I like good people and clean places, smoking is very bad, people should not do it. I want to be part of any awareness campaigns as people are ready to hear me," the youngster has been quoted as saying while interacting with officials of the Dubai Municipality.

Satvik’s campaign against tobacco started last year after he learned of the ill-effects of tobacco from his parents. His father Sandeep Vashisht has said, “He was very curious to know why people around him smoked which is when we thought it was important to tell him about the harm that smoking can cause."

Since then, the young one has distributed information leaflets to more than 500 smokers in several areas including Lamcy Plaza, near the Creek, the Global Village and Meena Bazaar.

The leaflets cite the health benefits that accrue from quitting and motivate smokers to quit. Though the decision to quit smoking may be seem difficult, immediate health benefits can be seen within 72 hours of quitting, informs Satvik.

Original Story and Image courtesy www.gulfnews.com

Read more ...

Teachers have a role in tobacco control

Someone has rightly said, 'Teachers touch the future.' Teachers have an undeniable role in moulding the lives of children and in training them to grow up as responsible citizens!

Harnessing the supreme influence of teachers in the development of children is the Kerala Government Order that empowers Principals to monitor the sale of tobacco products around educational institutions. Teachers have also been directed to educate children on the harmful effects of tobacco products like the pan masala.

A news story on the role of teachers, which stemmed from this Order, was carried in the Thiruvananthapuram edition of the New Indian Express on December 24, 2011.

Read more ...

TFK Launch - Visual media takes over

The Reporter channel carried a news story that highlighted the Kerala Government's order banning sale of tobacco products within a radius of 400 metres of educational institutions.

India Vision, in a two-minute feature, portrays the reality wherein tobacco products are freely available around many educational institutions of the capital city.

Read more ...

TFK Launch - The media story continues ...

Janayugom, 22 December 2011

Kerala Kaumudi, 22 December 2011

Deshabhimani, 22 December 2011

Deepika, 22 December 2011

Mathrubhumi, 22 December 2011

           

           

Janmabhumi, 22 December 2011

Siraj, 22 December 2011

Veekshanam, 22 December 2011

Chandrika, 22 December 2011

Madhyamam, 22 December 2011

Varthamanam, 22 December 2011

Metro Vartha, 22 December 2011

Chandrika, 22 December 2011

Malayala Manorama, 23 December 2011

Read more ...

Launch of Tobacco Free Kerala - In the media

The Hindu, 22 December 2011

Deccan Chronicle, 22 December 2011

The New Indian Express, 22 December 2011

To view the story in the Times of India of 22 December 2011, please click here

Read more ...

Kerala to go Tobacco Free

Making a significant step towards making the beautiful State of Kerala tobacco free, a campaign called Tobacco Free Kerala by a coalition of the same name was launched in December 2011.

From L: Shri.Rajeev Sadanandan, Shri.Adoor Prakash
and Dr. Paul Sebastian

The Hon’ble Minister for Health Shri.Adoor Prakash formally launched the campaign in the capital city of Kerala in the presence of Shri. Rajeev Sadanandan, Principal Secretary (Health), and Dr. Paul Sebastian, Director, Regional Cancer Centre (RCC), Thiruvananthapuram.

The members of the coalition are Regional Cancer Centre, Malabar Cancer Centre, Voice of Tobacco Victims, Kerala Voluntary Health Services and MD-Niche, which is the media sensitisation arm of the campaign.

To view the video of the launch, please click here

Read more ...