Injurious to Health

                                                 A  cigarette between your index and middle finger is a sight we find everywhere we look. Be it peer pressure or depression, it is very common to see youngsters involve into a habit like this. On the basis of current smoking patterns, a global average of about 50 per cent of young men and 10 per cent of young women become smokers and relatively few stop. In 2010, there were 5 million tobacco-attributable deaths. This increase is due partly to population growth and partly to the fact that, in some large populations, generations in which few people smoked substantial numbers of cigarettes throughout adult life are being succeeded by generations in which many people did so. In the age group of 30 and above, nearly 29 per cent smoke daily.

Among women, only 2.5 per cent smoke.        

In September 2012, the health ministry set up a committee to recommend amendments to the Tobacco Regulation Act which may suggest raising minimum age for smoking from 18 years to 25, and also raising fines for tobacco related offenses, including smoking in public. Though the government has amended schemes, it is observed that it has hardly made a difference.

Hundreds of children still work in beedi factories and youngsters are prone to such habits especially because of peer pressure. Despite knowing the fact that smoking kills, a large number of people are still driven towards this slow poison. Do you think the government needs to ban smoking in the country?

In a high-five to citizen health, the Raghubar Das government has banned the sale of loose cigarettes and bidis across Jharkhand, toeing other states like Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra, where clampdown on the cancer stick made headlines in the recent past.

The prohibition will come into immediate effect, with the issue of a notification under Section 7 of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA), 2003, by the third week of this month. Violations shall invite punishments ranging from cash fine to prison term (see box) under Section 20 of COTPA.

Dr Lalit Ranjan Pathak, nodal officer of the state's non-communicable disease cell, said the ban decision was taken on December 1. "The information and public relations department will issue a public notice within the next 10 days. Thereafter, we shall crack down on shops/outlets selling loose cigarettes."

To implement the ban, a state-level flying squad is being constituted under Dr Pathak. "There will be district and block-level flying squads too, which will be guided by respective deputy commissioners. So far, Dhanbad, Bokaro and Simdega have formed their squads," the nodal officer said.

Ranchi deputy commissioner Manoj Kumar said their squad was closer to orientation and would be notified soon.

Each flying squad, Pathak said, must have at least three members including one police sub-inspector or an officer of higher rank. The maximum number of members can be 10. Since district leprosy officers are also in charge of the programme under which tobacco control is done, the squads will work in tandem with them.

On their objective behind the ban, the nodal officer said, "The ultimate goal is to demoralise sale and purchase of cigarettes, prevent people from smoking and prevent diseases caused by tobacco use. There will definitely be an impact of the order towards these goals."

Why just loose cigarettes are being banned then? "Cigarettes cannot be sold without the statutory warning that they are injurious to health. When one cigarette is sold instead of a packet, the mandatory warning is not communicated," Dr Pathak contended.

Smokers are divided.

Debanjan Kumar, a 38-year-old software engineer who wants to kick the habit, welcomed the decision. "A standard brand of cigarette costs around Rs 80 to Rs 100 for a packet of 10. Since I wish to quit, I don't buy more than four loose cigarettes, which are cheaper too. The ban will encourage me to stop smoking," he said.

But, banker Kushal Kumar, who smokes at least two packets a day, feels otherwise. "Such bans are baseless. People like us who cannot give up smoking will find ways to buy their fag, loose or in packs," the 45-year-old said.

Dr Pathak, who was himself a chain smoker in the Nineties, claimed kicking the habit was not impossible. "I was a smoker for 15 years. All it requires to quit is determination and a little push. Our flying squads will give that push," he summed up.