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tobacco

Ban e-cigarettes, Centre tells states

In a controversial move, the Union Health Ministry has moved to ban e-cigarettes and similar devices in India. The Centre claims e-cigarettes pose “a great health risk to public at large, especially to children, adolescents, pregnant women and women of reproductive age”. To this end, it has moved state governments to stop e-cigarettes from being …

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Head and neck cancers kill in India: Tobacco to blame?

Most of the world’s head and neck cancer patients are from India, recent data suggests. Experts suggest that high rates of tobacco use, particularly among men, are behind the grim statistic that 57.5 percent of the world’s head and neck cancer patients reside in India. What’s worse, the number of cases in the country are …

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Why is lung cancer spreading among non-smokers?

Lung cancer is often thought of as a smoker’s disease – and for good reason. Tobacco use drastically increases one’s risk of developing the disease. Yet in India more and more lung cancer cases are being seen among people who have never smoked. A study conducted by doctors at the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital (SGRH) …

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Senior lawyer compares chocolate to cigarettes, gets rap from SC

The Supreme Court has dismissed a petition challenging the Centre’s new guidelines for tobacco products. From September 1, tobacco products – including cigarettes, bidis and chewing tobaccos – will have to display a new set of graphic images and text warnings such as ‘tobacco causes painful death’ and ‘tobacco causes cancer.’ The number for a …

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Bollywood cancer cases shine light on national crisis

Social media is abuzz with reports of two famous Bollywood actors announcing their diagnosis of cancer. The stories have elicited emotional outburst all across the country and again brought to light India’s tough battle with cancer.  First Irrfan Khan — star of over fifty Bollywood films and numerous international box office hits —  announced in …

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Tamil Nadu movie star Vijay in legal storm over tobacco

Tamil Nadu film star Vijay has found himself in a spot of legal bother over tobacco. The 44-year-old actor tweeted a promo for his upcoming action thriller Sarkar earlier this year. The poster depicted him smoking a cigarette, a flaming lighter in hand.  The promo drew the ire of Tamil Nadu health officials. The Public …

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New tobacco health warnings from September

India is stepping up efforts to encourage its 120 million smokers to kick the habit. From September, tobacco product packaging will be required to showcase a new set of pictorial and textual health warnings. They will also have to carry the number for a toll-free line to help tobacco users quit. The new guidelines were issued …

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Cancer, a blight to both public health and the economy

Cancer cost India nearly $6.7 billion in lost productivity in 2012, a new study claims. This points towards the immense cost of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) not only to public health in the country, but to the economy. The total productivity loss in 2012 equated to 0.36 percent of India’s gross domestic product (GDP), according to …

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How Pierce Brosnan wound up in a tobacco firestorm in India

Actor Pierce Brosnan of James Bond fame has found himself at the centre of tobacco-related controversy in India. Health officials in Delhi have sent the actor a show cause notice over the actor’s appearances in advertisements for a brand of pan masala sold by Pan Bahar. Pan masala Pan masala is a popular chewing mixture …

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Tobacco control rule back in force after Supreme Court stays KHC repeal

A controversial tobacco ruling has been stayed by India’s Supreme Court, leading public health advocates to rejoice – and the tobacco industry to fume. Last year, the Karnataka High Court (KHC) ruled against a Union health ministry directive which said pictorial health warnings had to cover 85 percent of the display area on tobacco product …

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