Although tobacco is injurious to health, people in the country consume tobacco and its by-products worth Rs1.2 billion annually while the government has failed to take concrete steps to protect the masses from the health hazard involved in it.

New Delhi: If all goes well, Delhi will be a

Mumbai: Eight months after a ban was imposed on smoking in public places, a survey conducted by a local NGO has revealed that a large number of Mumbaikars are increasingly becoming aware of the ill-effects of smoking and are opposed to it.

Pakistan should implement already existing anti-tobacco laws to protect people from the tobacco epidemic, especially as the country has signed the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control - requiring signatories to post "health warnings describing the harmful effects of tobacco use" on cigarette packets and recommending that pictures form part of the warnings.

New Delhi: While the Union Health Ministry waits for May 31 to put in practice its ambitious plan of pictorial warnings on all tobacco products, the move to ban smoking in public places seems to have paid rich dividends. Hefty fine amounts collected since the ban was imposed from October 2 last year indicate the strict enforcement of the ban.

Creating awareness: Adyar Cancer Institute Chairman V. Shanta launches a documentary on the health hazards of tobacco at a function in Chennai on Tuesday. Commissioner of Police K.Radhakrishnan receives the first copy. Tobacco Cessation Centre coordinator E. Vidhubala is in the picture.

AFTER being put off five times since February 2007, it looks like the picto rial warnings on tobacco products are finally set to arrive this month.

This time the State Government is taking no chances. At a meeting held here on Monday, the Directorate of Pub lic Health and Preventive Medicine (DPH) announced the launch of a week long campaign to effectively implement the ruling from May 31.

China will ban smoking in all hospitals and medical facilities beginning in 2011, the Health Ministry said Friday.
China is the world's largest cigarette producer, and the Chinese represent a growing market of about 320 million, making it the focus of international health concerns.

WITH awareness generated on the harmful effects of cigarettes and smoking, another more vital aspect of tobacco use has been relatively ignored

Ramya Kannan

Awareness important, but decision to quit smoking depends on individual

sustained effort: This