IANS
New Delhi, Jul 21: Forget bars and restaurants, even smoking at home in the presence of a domestic help might invite action from the government.
Minister for Health and Family Welfare Anbumani Ramadoss said on Friday that the government would soon take stringent measures against smoking in all public places or any place where there is an employee.
"We are going to take stringent measures against smoking in public places like hotels, bars and restaurants... in fact any place where there are employees," Ramadoss said, speaking at a ceremony here where he was awarded the World Health Organisation (WHO) Director-General's Special Award for Tobacco Control for the year 2007.
"Even at home, if you smoke and there is a maid present, action can be taken against you," he said.
"If you have to smoke, then go to the roads."
The minister said that The Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act 2003 was an effective act but it was the enforcement that needed to be tightened.
"We have got a very vibrant act on tobacco control but the enforcement has been loose. We are soon going to set up a drug regulatory authority which will help us in our fight against tobacco."
Ramadoss said that the new authority would be a professional body and the US's Federal Drug Agency (FDA) has given lots of inputs for this.
Apart from thanking the WHO, family, friends and colleagues for the award, the minister also thanked the media.
"I have to thank a very special group for this award. It is called the media. It is the media that called me a 'fool' and 'stupid' and even questioned my MBBS degree when I called for a ban on smoking in films and television."
He said that every year, there are a million cases of cancer in India because of tobacco use.
"We spend Rs 40,000 crore annually on tobacco control. Our fight will continue and I am confident that India will soon become a tobacco free country."
Congratulating Chandigarh for becoming the first city in India to be tobacco-free, the minister said, "In Tamil Nadu, there is a village called Varanasi where the panchayat leader is an illiterate. And he has gone on to make the village totally tobacco free.”
"These are the people who will help us make India a tobacco-free nation."
Earlier, presenting the award to Ramadoss, WHO regional director, Southeast Asia, Samlee Plianbangchang commended the minister for carrying out an effective campaign against tobacco.
"Dr Ramadoss has efficiently and effectively steered the process of implementing rules and regulations related to the ban on tobacco smoking in public places and on tobacco advertising, as well as restricting access to tobacco products by youth," he said.
Giving damning statistics about tobacco use in India, the WHO regional director said, "India is the third largest producer of tobacco leaves in the world, after China and Brazil. Ninety five billion cigarettes and 850 billion beedis are produced in India every year."
He commended Ramadoss for the steps he has taken to "safeguard future generations from the devastating consequences of tobacco use".
"The tobacco control measures initiated and implemented by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare under the able stewardship of Dr Anbumani Ramadoss have been widely acclaimed at the regional and global levels, and have set a praiseworthy precedent for other countries to follow," he said, reading out from the citation for the award.
The WHO award is given annually to mark the World No Tobacco Day. According to WHO, the award is a "global recognition of the dynamic leadership" of Ramadoss under which India took rapid strides in tobacco control.