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Other Merchants of Death
Jagmohan Singh
Lack of political will to put up pictorial
warnings on the puff pack and not penalizing public smoking is
putting the health of nonsmokers too at risk. The Indian health
minister must act before it is too late.
 Dear Dr. Ramadoss
I have a high regard for your political party --Pattali Makkal
Kacthi, founded by your illustrious father and I am glad that
coalition politics has given you the privilege to influence the
health conditions in India. I write to you to expedite efforts
to liberate the populace from ill-effects of tobacco.
I am sure that you
are aware that Sikhs are fortunate that some three hundred years
ago, their Tenth Master, Guru Gobind Singh made it mandatory for his
followers to shun tobacco. Tobacco has been termed Jagat-jhoot-the
filth of the world. Legend has it that during one of his
sojourns, even the horse of Guru Gobind Singh had the good sense to
avoid running into a tobacco field. Leave alone using tobacco, even
touching it is sin.
I must share with
you what happened in the early seventies of the last century in
Panjab. When some Sikh leaders and organisations attempted to build
a movement against consumption of tobacco in all its forms, even
though tobacco consumption was then quiet low in Panjab, rabidly
fundamentalist organizations and their Arya Samaji leaders converted
the whole issue from a health concern to a communal issue. To taunt
the Sikhs, they exhorted people to smoke!
Today things have somewhat changed. Irrespective of what anybody
thinks in private, there is universal realization that tobacco
kills. For the people of Panjab, passive smoking is a serious
threat. Second-hand smoke exposure is causing increasing health
problems. A section of the poor people is turning to chewing
tobacco too.
 The
Indian figures, as you know, are staggering. Of the 1.1
billion people who smoke worldwide, 182 million (16.6%) live in
India. 20 percent of these smoke and the balance chew tobacco.
Four major
provisions of the Anti-Tobacco Act (Cigarettes and Other Tobacco
Products -Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and
Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution Act, 2003), namely
prohibition of sale of tobacco products near educational
institutions, mandatory depiction of statutory warning including
pictorial warning on tobacco products, mandatory depiction of tar
and nicotine content and increasing awareness against passive
smoking have been flouted with impunity. Like all Indian laws,
implementation is wanting.
I find it hard to
believe that you continue to blame the powerful tobacco lobby for
the health ministry’s inability to put laws to effective use even
though there are court directions to be followed. You are the
Minister. You are accountable and responsible. Catch the bull by
its horns and do not care about the rich tobacco industry. The
tobacco companies and their owners are also merchants of death.
They may not have a political face but their influence and
machinations are lethal.
For whatever reason,
you wanted a change of guard at All India Institute of Medical
Sciences and you had your way. You now have an administrator of
your choice at the premier hospital of the country in New Delhi.
The stealthy coercion of 4 chief ministers and 150 members of
parliament notwithstanding, you should promulgate the law and force
all cigarette and bidi companies to follow the provisions of
the Act.
 Setting up of
Tobacco Control Cells as suggested by the WHO and Tobacco cessation
clinics, successfully working in Tamil Nadu, will surely create
awareness and eliminate this scourge. A complete and thorough ban
on surrogate advertising is also an urgent need. You should take
the initiative to set up online and phone-based round-the-clock
counseling services for people who want to quit smoking but find it
difficult to do so, something like the Quitline in the US.
There is
overwhelming evidence that pictorial warning have reduced the
incidence of smoking. In European countries, these warnings have
reduced smoking by as much as ten percent. NGOs like Healis
Sekhsaria Institute for Public Health, Mumbai and the Burning Brain
Society, Chandigarh doubt your motive. The only way to undo this is
to initiate immediate action.
Your coalition
government has very little time. Elections are a few paces away.
History is testimony to the fact that men who make bold decisions
leave a benchmark for others to follow. If you take action, the
future incumbents of your ministry will go further in this direction
and address other health concerns too. It is after a long time that
a doctor has become incumbent of the health ministry. If at the end
of the day you still cannot do it, you should expose all those who
are holding you back. The political pawns of the tobacco industry
must be put up in a dingy tobacco-smoke infected room and
interrogated about their complicity.
I was pleasantly
surprised to learn that India ratified the International Framework
Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) on 5 February 2004, aimed at
curbing tobacco-related deaths and disease, after its unanimous
adoption by 192 countries a the World Health Assembly (WHA) on 21st
May 2003. Ratification of international conventions does not come
easily to India.
As per the
country-level commitment under the treaty, countries are mandated to
impose restrictions on tobacco advertising, sponsorship and
promotion, establish new packaging and labeling of tobacco products
with strong health warnings, establish clean indoor air controls by
imposing restrictions on smoking in public places and strengthening
legislation to clamp down on illicit trade in tobacco products.
I must complement
you that despite protests from a section of the film industry, your
campaign for Tobacco-free films have borne fruit. The glorification
of smoking on the silver screen is on the decline. Aamir Khan has
quit smoking as a New Year resolution. The sensitization of the
film industry has begun.
 In May 2007, the
chairperson of the Motion Pictures Association of America, Dan
Glickman said, “Clearly, smoking is increasingly an unacceptable
behaviour in our society. There is broad awareness of smoking as a
unique public health concern due to nicotine’s highly addictive
nature, and no parent wants their child to take up the habit.” He
said this while announcing the decision those Hollywood movies with
smoking could go from PG rating to R Rating. Clearly, the Indian
Ministry of Health, the Information Broadcasting Ministry and the
Censor Board of India need to follow suit.
If the "Tobacco
kills 2,500 Indians everyday." warning is not put up on cigarette
packs, then state patronage for exchequer reasons should be blamed
for these daylight murders.
In 2006, India won
the “Luther Terry Award” at the World Conference on tobacco. If it
were a rotating trophy, you would loose it for failure to implement
legal, executive and international commitments.
Health ministry
figures say that some eight hundred thousand people die of tobacco
intake every year in India. You will certainly earn the blessings
of those who will survive. So let not the proposal end up in smoke.
I wish you good luck, more energy and courage to take action.
With prayers for a
tobacco-free New Year and good health for you and your family,
Yours truly
Jagmohan Singh
The writer is a
health, religious, social and political activist based in Ludhiana,
Punjab.
He may be contacted at
jsbigideas@gmail.com
26 December 2007
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