India to Ban Tobacco!

Deepika Global News (India) ^ | Jan 3 (UNI) 2003 | Shatrughan Sinha

[vannrox]

Law soon to ban tobacco: Shatrughan Sinha

Mumbai, Jan 3 (UNI) A law will soon be formed to ban tobacco and its related

products including gutkha throughout the country, according to Health and Family Welfare Minister Shatrughan Sinha.

While delivering the inaugural address at 'Pedicon - 2003', a four-day international conference on Pediatrics which started here yesterday, Mr Sinha said that the Bill to ban tobacco and its related products was presently pending before the standing committee of the Parliament.

After the standing committee's approval, it will be placed before the Cabinet. The bill will then be put to vote in the Parliament, he said.

Admitting that the tobacco lobby was effective in politics, the Union Health Minister said, ''But, I shall not be afraid of any situation.'' Mr Sinha said 90 million cigarettes were consumed every year and there was a tobacco-related death every 40 seconds in India.

''More than 7 lakh people die every year due to tobacco related diseases,'' he said adding that such diseases would cause the maximum number of deaths by 2020.

Out of the total number of cancer patients in the country, 50 per cent males and 25 per cent females were suffering from the life-threatening disease because of tobacco, he said.

[vannrox]

Inspired by the Liberals in America no doubt.

[per loin]

Great news for tobacco growers. Profits will soar.

[Vince Ferrer]

At least this is more honest, none of the "we hate tobbacco but we'll tolerate it if we get a cut" liberal mentality.

[Petronski]

More than 7 lakh people die every year due to tobacco related diseases...

Seven? What does 'lakh' mean? It makes little sense.

[Steel Wolf]

Inspired by the Liberals in America no doubt.

And not a bad idea, either. Why, if we banned tobacco, think of the billions in health care we would save? Think of the lives rescued! Think of the children!

Listen up, Tobacco, America is coming for you. We've already got marijuana, and, the State willing, alcohol will be ours once again! Muhuhahahahah!!

[Mark]

The Kennedy klan might get something going there like during prohibition in the U.S.

[Digger]

Doncha just love this "New World Order" crapola? Soon as the tobacco is gone we can sic the thought police on'um. Oh yea, I sleep better each night knowing that the world is protecting me. Oh Please give me more of that NAFTA, GATT stuff. And don't forget to turn the light out after you elites bankrupt us with your contrived wars. And please GW, stay in that UN so we can feed the N. Koreans while they nuke us. And don't ever give a Buchanan a break by reading a book or two of his about empire building & see what it has gotten those nations. Naw, tell us that Islam is a peaceful religion.

[Grut]

Soon, The World's Shrillest Democracy will also be the world's twitchiest... and, they have nukes!

[Dog Gone]

Sinha said 90 million cigarettes were consumed every year

That seems like very few for a country of a billion people. I think my wife smokes that many by herself.

[swarthyguy]

First reaction is laughter. How in blazes would this work. Second, city air is so bad cigs can taste real nice. And sometimes the aroma of tobacco is preferable to the rich muskiness of everyday life.

But things have changed a whole lot here too.

Over there, the signs will be up and everyone may ignore them. Somewhat like in Europe where i saw a group of American tourists complaining that people were smoking in the no-smoking zone at the airport terminal!

This may be enforced more in the ritzier hotels and eateries.

The McD's will probably not have a smoking area anymore.

Just more of that dastardly American cultural imperialisme.

[swarthyguy]

Probably doesn't include the HUGE numbers smoking bidis -- hand rolled minicigs that got real popular with the rap crowd here(particularly the scented ones aimed at the 'kids') and are far cheaper than cigs.

[Dan Day]

"More than 7 lakh people die every year due to tobacco related diseases..."

Seven? What does 'lakh' mean? It makes little sense.

I had to look that one up myself... Apparently a "lakh" is a unit of 100,000, and there's no equivalent English word for it, thus the lack of translation.

So "7 lakh people" is 700,000 people.

We're used to describing things in terms of hundreds/thousands/millions/billions, but apparently the folks in India like to express things in terms of 100,000's at times. A web search for "lakh" turned up scores of examples of it in use in articles and essays and such.

[#3Fan]

Cool, I need a new line of work. Tobacco smuggling sounds good. Travel the world, excitement, good profits.

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.

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[joking...just in case]

[Dog Gone]

Well, I am impressed with Indian cigarettes. 90 million cigarettes kills 700,000 Indians each year. That's about 128 cigarettes per year per fatality, and that's assuming that nobody else in the country even has any cigarettes.

[Dan Day]

"Sinha said 90 million cigarettes were consumed every year"

That seems like very few for a country of a billion people. I think my wife smokes that many by herself.

Probably mangled in translation. I'll bet it was originally "90 milliard", which is British for "90 billion" (although we're slowly converting them to use our billion/trillion terminology instead of their traditional milliard/billion). Some reporter or copy editor (or maybe even Sinha himself) probably mistakenly rendered "milliard" as "million" instead of the correct "billion".

And 90 billion is about what you'd expect for annual cigarette consumption in a country the size of India.

[xm177e2]

A web search for "lakh" turned up scores of examples of it in use

Well, we do the same thing sometimes...

[Dan Day]

A law will soon be formed to ban tobacco and its related products including gutkha throughout the country

Ooh, *this* ought to be entertaining. Pass the popcorn.

[Dan Day]

Well, we do the same thing sometimes...

*LOL!* Good spot, I hadn't even caught myself doing that.

[Dog Gone]

Darn. I liked it better when I had each Indian cigarette being a thousand times more powerful than American brands.

[Free the USA]

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