Tobacco use is barrier to sustainable development-WHO Director

Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director General, says tobacco use is a barrier to sustainable development on all fronts.

He made the remark in Cape Town, South Africa, March 7 during the 17th World Conference on Health or Tobacco, WCTOH. The event is placed under the theme: “Uniting the World for a Tobacco Free Generation.”

During the event, the WHO Director joined various speakers to appeal for a renewed focus on tobacco control policies to help users quit and to prevent non-users from becoming addicted.

Michael Bloomberg and Bloomberg Philanthropies, all  organisers of the event said, “international collaboration is vital for tracking tobacco use, which remains the world’s leading preventable cause of death, killing more than seven million people each year.”

They disclosed that global tobacco control measures have saved nearly 35 million lives around the world, even though; tobacco industry is pushing to find new users.

Various participants attended the event were of the opinion that the event will serve as avenue “to address this epidemic by working together to protect present and future generations from the devastating health, social, environmental and economic consequences of tobacco consumption and exposure. Tobacco has no benefits to humanity whatsoever as the tobacco industry is poisoning people to death,”

Given that tobacco use kills more than seven million people worldwide each year, stakeholders at the event proposed that to save lives, governments across the globe must stand up to the tobacco industry and fully implement the proven strategies called for by the tobacco control treaty, the FCTC. These include significant tobacco tax increases, comprehensive smoke-free laws, advertising bans and large, graphic health warnings.

“Now is the time for leaders to implement strong policies proven to protect their citizens from tobacco,” he appealed.

Courtesy:Journal du Cameroun

Read more ...

MoEF issues notices to top gutkha, pan masala companies for use of plastic in sachets

The brand owners of the units manufacturing gutka, tobacco and pan masala shall have the overall responsibility for implementation of these directions.

Cracking down on 20 top gutka and pan masala companies for non-compliance of Supreme Court orders and Plastic Waste Management Rules, (PWM) 2016, the environment ministry has issued notices to them, directing them to prohibit use of plastic in packaging their products. The ministry's directions, reviewed by dna, has asked manufacturers of Gurkha, Tobacco and Pan Masala to immediately stop using plastic material in any form to follow strict compliance of Supreme Court's directions and provisions of PWM Rules. Under Rule 4(f) of the PWM Rules, 2016, plastic material is not to be used for sachets that store, pack and sell gutka, tobacco and pan masala.

"The brand owners of the units manufacturing gutka, tobacco and pan masala shall have the overall responsibility for implementation of these directions. The compliance report for the aforesaid directions and the provisions of the rules shall be submitted to the ministry within 30 days," the ministry's directions said. The union environment ministry can issue directions under section 5 of the Environment Protection Act, 1986, for closure. Prohibition or regulation of any industry, operation or process or for stoppage and regulation of the supply of electricity or water or any other service.

The ministry has issued these directions to top gutka, tobacco and Pan Masala manufacturing companies such as Vimal Pan Masala, Dharampal Satyapal Group, Rajshree Pan Masala, Manickchand Pan Masala, Pan Parag and Goa Pan Masala.

In a 2010 order, the Supreme Court had restrained manufacturers of gutka, tobacco and pan masala from using plastic material in sachets of gutka, tobacco and pan masala. These orders were not followed and later, in 2011, a contempt petition was filed regarding disobedience of Supreme Court's orders on use of plastic in gutka industry. The SC had then directed the environment ministry and other concerned agencies to ensure implementation of the its orders by all manufacturers across the country.

Source: DNA

Read more ...

Tobacco litter a potential threat

Tobacco use has not only been inducing cancer but is also leaving the environment polluted, spreading diseases and possibly contaminating food, says a body of oncologists in Kolkata. 

Cigarette and bidi butts, along with chewing tobacco spits littered on streets, should be classified as toxic wastes, they have claimed, pointing to a recent application filed by a doctors' organization with the National Green Tribunal. The possibility of tobacco litter was sharper in Kolkata since the city has more smokers that most other metros, according to Bengal Oncology Foundation. 

Responding to an application filed by Mumbai-based NGO Doctors for You, the NGT has directed the Union ministries of environment and health and the Central Pollution Control Board to file their response on the harm caused by cigarette, bidi butts and chewing tobacco to the environment. 

"Cigarette butts consist of carcinogens, nicotine and toxic metals such as cadmium, arsenic and lead in a highly concentrated form. All these pose high risk to public health. Action must be taken at the earliest to contain such hazardous litter, said Subir Ganguly, Vice President, Bengal Oncology. 

He added that the possibility of cigarette butts transmitting diseases couldn't be ruled out. "In Kolkata, it is not uncommon for people, even children, to smoke cigarette or bidi ends picked up from the road. Apart from the metals that the ends contain, they could also transmit diseases. Tobacco spits, on the other hand, are even more infectious since they have saliva which helps to transmit diseases," explained Ganguly. 

Research has shown that about 25%-50% of litter accumulated from the streets comprises tobacco residues. A 100 billion non-biodegradable butts are released in the environment every year. 

The possibility of tobacco contamination was a real one, said oncologist Gautam Mukhopadhyay, Secretary of Bengal Oncology. 

"Food sold on the streets is vulnerable since they remain uncovered. 

Utensils used by hawkers are often washed and stored very close to garbage dumps full of tobacco wastes," he added. 

Doctors for You cited the example of the Howrah Bridge, whose pillars are corroding due to acids in tobacco spit. "We need to build awareness on the of littering. Unless habits change, it will be difficult to curb tobacco litter," said Kalyan Rudra, Chairman of the State Pollution Control Board. 

Even though smoking in and around hospitals, government offices and educational institutions is prohibited, the rule is routinely flouted in Kolkata. 

Most hospital staircases and corridors in the city are heavily smeared with tobacco spits and peppered with cigarette ends. "Nothing could be more unhealthy than this since patients are more susceptible to infections. Unless smoking in public was banned, it would be difficult to control tobacco litter, felt Ganguly.

Source: Times of India

Read more ...