Smoking may now burn more than your lungs, if you happen to do it at the MG Marg here. The State Urban Development and Housing (UD&H) department is mulling a proposal to ban smoking along the MG Marg. The ban comes with a heavy fine for offenders. This decision, which has come a few years after the Marg was declared a "Litter and spit-free zone,' may soon be implemented. This was informed by the department officials at a day-long awareness-cum-capacity building campaign organised for the porters of Gangtok and its surrounding areas here Wednesday. The new rule may come into force once the MG Marg renovation and beautification works are completed. The State Government has banned smoking in public places, but the law has not been implemented in earnest.means during the elections.

In the 20th century, the tobacco epidemic killed 100 million people worldwide. During the 21st century, it could kill one billion, says the World Health Organisation (WHO), which has come up with a six-policy package to counter the tobacco epidemic and reduce its deadly toll. In view of the global tobacco epidemic and the warning issued by WHO, organisations working for the improvement of public health have decided to pressurise the Government to make pictorial warnings mandatory on cigarette packets and other related products. The delay on the part of the union Government to introduce pictorial warnings came in for sharp attack from the Voluntary Health Association of Assam on Sunday. The members of the association while taking the Government to task said the tobacco epidemic has emerged deadlier than HIV/AIDS, as it can kill in many ways. Dr Gautam Borgohain, medical officer of the association, said the cure for the devastating tobacco epidemic was not dependent on medicines or vaccines, but on the concerted actions of the Government and the civil society. "Tobacco use can kill in so many ways that it is a risk factor for six to eight leading causes of death in the world,' said Dr Borgohain. On the other hand, Ruchira Neog, executive secretary of the association said tobacco was the only legal consumer product that harms everyone exposed to it and kills up to half of those who use it. "Though tobacco is the single most preventable cause of death in the world today, its use is wide spread due to low price, lack of awareness about its dangers and aggressive marketing,' said Ruchira stressing the need for applying the WHO recommended measures to control tobacco epidemic. The WHO recommends six policies to reverse the tobacco epidemic. These are

Over two lakh residents of five villages in Outer Delhi have a stinking problem: living with a sewage treatment plant (STP) as their neighbour. The plant is part of the Capital's initiative to sanitise 189 villages with an "appropriate sewage disposal mechanism' by the end of 2009. The villagers moved the Delhi High Court recently, through a registered society called Gramin Uthan Avam Jankalyan, to halt the plant's construction. A Bench led by Justice T S Thakur, though, dismissed the petitioners' contention. The court observed that it was high time that sewage treatment in Delhi began on a "war-footing', and that there was no "real and compelling reason for interference in public interest'. The petitioners claim at 200 metres, the plant is too close for comfort, and would add to diseases and pollution in their area. "The STP will adversely affect the environment by breeding mosquitoes and spreading viral diseases and foul smell,' the petition says. The plant was meant for treating sewage of five villages

In a step that may result in far-reaching consequences, groups of doctors from around the world have voiced serious concern over prescription of drugs that are derived from animal extracts. In a conference held by Jain Doctors' Federation (JDF) last week, a large number of doctors vouched to minimize prescription of drugs that are derived from animal extracts, and instead use the best alternative allopathic medicine available. It was agreed upon by the doctors that there are a number of evidences where the human body suffers with side-effects like adverse allergic reactions as a result of popping those shiny, lubricated capsules or tonics, which do not serve any therapeutic purpose. Also, in extreme cases, they may lead to cancer. While some animal extracts are used to lubricate and colour capsules, the pancreatic juice from animals is used for smooth digestion in humans. "Animal extracts in medicines are known to have carcinogenic effect on the human body, not forgetting the cruelty done to the animals, especially when there is alternative medicine or ingredient available in allopathy,' said Dr Mangal Jain, associate professor of pharmacology in Grant Medical College, JJ hospital. A group of doctors is planning to approach the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to tighten its rules and regulations, especially disclosure of information in public interest. "FDA should make it compulsory for all drug manufacturers to mention "made from animal extracts' in the list of ingredients on the cover of the medicine and prohibit use of any jargons. For example, "carminic acid' which is nothing but extract from insects. Carminic acid does not give any indication of any animal extracts being used,' added Dr Jain. The doctors are also trying to place

The Meghalaya Health Department was today sent into a tizzy following a suspected case of bird flu admitted at the Shillong Civil Hospital today. State Director of Health Services Dr KH Lakiang said one Anjalina Paslain (21) has been admitted with "fever and rashes' and has been kept in the "isolation ward'. "The blood and stool samples of the victim has been collected, and will be sent for tests for Bird Flu virus to the National Institute of Communicable Diseases in Delhi tomorrow,' he said, adding, "Nothing can be said as of now.' While not ruling out the possibility of Bird Flu, Dr Lakiang said the tests have been done for "prevention' and "diagnosis'. District Surveillance Officer (Integrated Diseases Surveillance Cell) Dr M Basaiawmoit and other senior officials of the Health Department also did not rule out the possibility, but said nothing can be confirmed till the tests results. Two specialists doctors attending the victim refused to divulge much but at the same time did not rule out the possibility. "Nothing can be said. Certain respiratory problems also have similar symptoms. We have to wait for the test results to come. It will take three to four days,' they said, requesting not to be named.

TOKYO

Sewage gushing out of chocked gutters has inundated several major streets in Lyari, causing inconvenience to the residents and creating a hindrance in the smooth flow of vehicular traffic. The worst-affected areas of the locality include D. D. Chaudhry Road, Police Quarters, Baghdadi police station on Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai Road and its adjacent streets. According to area people, these pools of filthy water on these streets are turning into fertile breeding grounds for mosquitoes and other insects increasing the possibility of an outbreak of diseases. Apart from this, the roads of the locality are also being extensively damaged adding to the problems of the already perturbed Lyariites. In a signed letter addressed to the Lyari Town nazim, copies of which had also been sent to the Sindh governor, chief minister, chief secretary and the city nazim, over 40 residents of the affected areas had deplored that the overflowing sewage from chocked lines of the locality had become a recurring menace and their repeated complaints lodged with the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) officials concerned in this regard had, so far, remained unheeded. They said that since the sewerage system had been laid some 50 years ago, the infrastructure of that period could not cope with the present-day requirements of the locality, which had witnessed a cent per cent increase in its population. They urged the relevant authorities to revamp the entire sewerage system of the locality on modern lines.The area people said that the main cause of this recurring menace of overflowing sewage was old undersized lines. They, however, deplored that the issue had been brought to the notice of the relevant authorities of the KWSB but to no avail. The KWSB people had developed a habit of expressing their inability to replace the undersized lines citing severe financial constraints, they said. Khudadad Colony Residents of Khudadad Colony, situated off Shahrah-i-Quaideen, complained that filthy water overflowing from some chocked sewers had become a recurring issue in their locality. They deplored that sewage gushing out of some chocked sewers often remained accumulated on a number of streets for days together but engineers of the KWSB neither took prompt measures to rectify the fault responsible for the chocked lines nor drained the filthy water from the roads.