Lack of political will hits anti-tobacco

CHENNAI: Despite several initiatives by the anti-tobacco movement to help people quit smoking, the campaign has made little impact in the country owing to lack of political will, said Dr V Shantha, chairperson of the Cancer Institute (WIA). One-third of the Indian population uses tobacco in some form; and the addiction is increasing by about four per cent each year, said Dr Arvind Krishnamurthy, consultant surgical oncologist of the institute.Dr E Vidhubala, assistant professor and principal investigator, department of psycho-oncology and Tobacco Cessation Centre, Cancer Institute, echoed Dr Shanta. “While efforts have to be made to reduce sale of tobacco products by increasing tax on it, in Tamil Nadu, VAT exemption was given for beedis in 2006,” she noted, adding that the then State government had also reduced the tax rate for gutka from 40 per cent to 12.5 per cent.“The implementation of a State-wide ban on smoking in public places has not been satisfactory. It was not being implemented like a regular government programme. The ban was not even enforced with the seriousness the State showed in tackling piracy and in implementing the compulsory helmet rule,” she said.Though 40 per cent of cancers cases in the country are tied to tobacco consumption, cancer is not the only health hazard, said Dr Shantha, calling for awareness programmes by the State similar to the ones conducted for polio or AIDS prevention.When asked if change of government would make any difference to the anti-tobacco movement, the members said they would prefer to wait and watch instead of jumping to conclusions.