Progress in reducing tobacco use is a key indicator for measuring countries’ efforts to implement the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control – target 3.a under the Sustainable Development Goals agenda. Countries have adopted this indicator to report progress also towards the tobacco reduction target under the Global Action Plan …
the Chhattisgarh government is planning to ban gutka (chewing tobacco) from January next year. Though talks of banning the flavoured chewing tobacco have been going on for the past two years, state health officials say the issue assumed urgency after a high concentration of magnesium carbonate, a toxic substance, was …
"There is no good reason why a switch from tobacco products to less harmful nicotine delivery systems should not be encouraged.' So stated a 1991 Lancet Editorial, yet 16 years later cigarettes continue to dominate the nicotine-delivery system market, despite their clear health risks. (Editorial) Oct 6-12, 2007
>> The Mexican police caught six smugglers with about 57,000 Olive Ridley turtle eggs on August 28 in Oaxaca state. The eggs of this endangered species are part of people's traditional diet and marketed openly despite a ban. >> Tajikistan recently cancelled a Russian contract for the construction of a …
Images highlighting the dangers of smoking will be printed on all tobacco products sold in the uk by the end of 2009, under regulations being planned. Manufacturers will have to start complying from October next year. After a public consultation, 15 images, including ones of diseased lungs, have been chosen …
no food adulteration: The Union ministry of health and family welfare has issued draft rules amending the existing Prevention of Food Adulteration rules (1955). The draft, made public on August 14, is open for comments and objection for 60 days. The rules lay down that each package of chewing tobacco …
researchers have come up with a new explanation on how cigarette smoke affects the human body. By focusing on a particular condition caused due to oxygen imbalance in the body, called oxidative stress, the study will help understand the effect of other environmental pollutants on our health. During smoking, the …
70% of the billion or so tobacco related deaths expected by 2025 will occur in developing countries. Such staggering figures could have a profound eff ect on the global economy. India is the second largest producer and consumer of tobacco products worldwide, but it has taken great strides to be …
On July 1, England joins the growing list of countries that have introduced laws to protect the public and employees from the harmful eff ects of passive smoking. From July 1, smoking in almost all enclosed public or work places will be illegal, with fines for smokers who break the …
In a firm step towards checking tobacco use, on May 29 the who issued its strongest policy recommendations. It urged all countries to ban smoking at indoor workplaces and public buildings. It asked governments to immediately pass laws requiring all indoor workplaces and public places to be 100 per cent …
power failure: Bangladesh's shrimp industry in the south of the country is facing severe power shortages. Work in 39 shrimp processing factories in Bagerhat, Khulna and Satkhira districts has been hampered and they have incurred losses amounting to Rs 2 crore per day. Factory owners complained that their factories had …
peach potato aphids mean nightmares for farmers. The pests affects hundreds of economically important plants including rice, mustard, potato and tobacco. A research team from Kolkata has identified a leaf protein in garlic that shows promising results in eliminating these aphids. Known as Allium sativum leaf lectin (asal), the protein …
The amount of nicotine that us smokers typically inhale per cigarette rose by 11 per cent from 1998 to 2005, perpetuating a "tobacco pandemic' that makes it harder for smokers to quit, according to a study by Harvard School of Public Health. The researchers analysed data submitted by major cigarette …
Tobacco smoking, passive smoking, and indoor air pollution from biomass fuels have been implicated as risk factors for tuberculosis (TB) infection, disease, and death. Tobacco smoking and indoor air pollution are persistent or growing exposures in regions where TB poses a major health risk. The researchers undertook a systematic review …
Assam is the highest tea producer state in the country. There is scarcity of reliable information on health and nutritional status among tea garden population of Assam to enable initiating public health response to their health needs.
cigarette smoke has been linked to a higher rate of cataract but a new study says that even those who chew tobacco are at risk. Chewing tobacco is common in India, where cataract accounts for 44 per cent of blindness cases. Other risk factors for cataract include exposure to ultraviolet …
in the first week of July, the Florida Supreme Court (sc) upheld an earlier lower court ruling that rejected a us $145-billion award, the largest-ever against tobacco companies. It said that an estimated 300,000 to 700,000 people from Florida, who suffered from the ill-effects of smoking and were part of …
• Musicians from the Shaman forest community in Brazil are on a musical tour of Britain. The tour intends taking vignettes of this Amazonian community's culture to the hosts. • Kenya had to rescind its recently announced ban of smoking in public after an order from the country's Supreme Court. …
Farmers in Kenya have demanded that the government should force tobacco companies to give them protective clothing since they risked contracting lung and skin diseases. The lack of aprons, nose-masks and gloves puts the farmers at a health risk. Some tobacco companies are mobilising against possible regulation, while others are …
