The government is increasingly getting conscious about the health of its people. After launching a campaign against tobacco, the health ministry is now considering to ascertain the illeffects of carbonated water or soft-drinks, report Niranjan Bharati & Rajeev Jayaswal from New Delhi. The ministry has asked the Indian Council of Medical Re-search (ICMR) to undertake a "controlled study' to assess effect of consumption of carbonated water on health. "ICMR is currently examining the feasibility of carrying out such a study,' minister of state for health & family welfare Panabaka Lakshmi said. The ministry asked ICMR to initiate the study as per the recommendation of a the national level expert group. The group was constituted for providing technical input to the pesticide residues sub-group of the Central Committee for Food Standards, examining pesticide residue in the soft drink. The expert group was constituted in November 2004 amidst cola controversy, raised by a a year ago. According to an official in the health ministry, the expert committee observed it was difficult to establish co-relationship between consumption of carbonated water and its effects on health.