India: Centre to Take Steps to Strengthen Tobacco Products Act

Source from:  The New Indian Express  09/22/2014

Declaring war on cancer and discouraging consumption of the products that cause the deadly disease, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said here on Friday that the government was for strict implementation of the laws to check use of tobacco products.

As part of the strict implementation of the laws against tobacco and its consumption, the government will soon discuss measures to strengthen the Cigarette and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA), he said while declaring the Regional Cancer Centre (RCC) here as a State Cancer Institute.

"The task force set up to look into Cigarette and Other Tobacco Products Act  and its implementation has submitted its report to the government about the measures to be adopted for strengthening the existing laws. The report will be placed before the Cabinet," the Union Health Minister said.

Stressing the need for prevention and early detection of cancer, Harsh Vardhan said that a lot needs to be done to ensure that people keep away from all deadly things that cause the killer disease.

The Union Minister also said that a movement would be launched across the country for early detection of cancer.

Harsh Vardhan also noted that all the State Governments should strictly implement anti-tobacco laws.

"Fight against tobacco products and alcohol is a fight against death. I strongly advocate for stringent anti-tobacco laws," the Health Minister said.

He also said that there should be a strenuous effort to educate the people against the disease apart from  having more cancer institutes. "Preventive education and positive attitude development should be the focus," he said.

Health education should be the priority, he said and added that Kerala could develop a model in this regard. Enditem