Rising tobacco output a blow to WHO hopes
Business Standard, Ahmadabad, Gujarat

[To read this news in Hindi language, click here]

EXCERPT:
It is not going to be easy for India to meet its commitment to the World Health Organisation (WHO) to bring down tobacco production by 50 per cent in the next one decade। Tobacco output in India is estimated to be more than 700 million kg in 2009-10 due to higher price realisation last year and scanty rainfall.

"We have estimated the tobacco production at 700 million kg in 2009-10 as against 690 million kg in 2008-09," said J Suresh Babu, chairman, Tobacco Board. However, the board is concerned over the fact that the production may even surpass its current estimate as more and more farmers in major tobacco growing regions such as Andhra Pradesh are opting for tobacco in the wake of higher prices.

Due to spurt in global demand following low tobacco production in leading growing countries such as Europe last year, flue-cured virginia (FCV) tobacco farmers received a price of Rs 108 a kg in 2008-09 as against Rs 84 a kg in 2007-08. Interestingly, 1.5 million kg of tobacco was auctioned in Karnataka recently and the price was quoted at Rs 113 a kg.

Apart from higher prices, erratic rainfall is also going to contribute to rise in output. "Delayed rains affected the prospects of various rabi crops and most of the land is vacant at present. With the onset of tobacco plantation in Andhra Pradesh, many farmers will be tempted to take up the crop leading to further rise in the production", he said. However, the Tobacco Board chairman also made it clear that the rise may not be more than 10 per cent.

Concerned over the possible increase in production, the board has started meeting farmers to convince them not to rush for tobacco crop. Tobacco plantation is currently in progress in Andhra Pradesh, which saw FCV tobacco production of 204 million kg in 2008-09. The Tobacco Board has fixed the tobacco output in the state at 170 million kg. Read more...

------------------------------------------------------

Tambakookillls News Bulletin
Wednesday, 30 September 2009
issue- 714

A year on, smoking ban appears ineffective
The Times of India, Chennai, Tamil Nadu

[To read this news in Hindi language, click here]

EXCERPT:
CHENNAI: The much-hyped ban on smoking in public places was introduced exactly a year ago but the butt is yet to be stubbed. Many continue to puff away in offices, cinemas, railway stations and, in Tamil Nadu, even on the campus of the state secretariat. And the fines collected reflect the lackadaisical attitude of the governments, say healthcare experts.

Tamil Nadu remains on top, having fined 10,979 people and collected Rs 12.6 lakh in fines, but health authorities admit that smoking in public places is still rampant. While Rs 1 lakh was collected in Delhi, it was Rs 3 lakh in Chandigarh, Rs 1.1 lakh in Karnataka and Rs 1.4 lakh in Andhra Pradesh.

"We are only in the initial stages. We only wanted to create awareness. The rule is not meant to just fine people but to make them understand that smoking is harmful. With assistance from pictorial warnings we hope to see a difference," said a senior health ministry official from New Delhi.

Many doctors aren't willing to agree particularly after the Tobacco Atlas Catalogue, released by the American Cancer Society and World Lung Foundation last year, rang more than one alarm bell. The study showed that women who smoke have their lifespan shortened by eight years, at least six million children aged between four and 14 work in the beedi industry. The report says India is the second highest consumer of tobacco with the highest number of young smokers.

Tamil Nadu Director for Public Health Dr S Elango said a squad whose members would inspect public places had been set up. "We still have a long way to go. But we have made a good beginning. The state believes that when smoking is curbed it not only discourages people from smoking, it also preserves the right of a non-smoker. More than anything else, we encourage the rights of a non-smoker. It's important considering that we have huge problem of non-communicable diseases," he said.

People like Adyar Cancer Institute chairman Dr V Shantha have been urging steps to break the marketing network of tobacco giants. "Curbing people from smoking can prevent several diseases, including cancer". Data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy show a 75% increase in the production of cigarettes in India since 2004.

The direct and indirect cost of tobacco use in India is estimated to be at least Rs 350 billion. At least 83% of the deaths in the world due to tobacco are in low and middle income countries. Four countries China, Brazil, India and the US produce at least two-thirds of the cigarettes sold across the world. While global tobacco production has doubled since the 1960s, low and middle resource countries show a 300% increase in tobacco consumption. Meanwhile, tobacco consumption dropped by more than 50% in high-income countries. In 2006, world tobacco production totalled nearly 7 million metric tonnes with 85% of the toxic leaf grown in middle income resource countries. Read more....

-----------------------------------------------

Tambakookills News Bulletin
Saturday, 03 October 2009
issue- 718

`59% of Bihar school students consume tobacco'
The Hindu Business Line, Patna, Bihar

[ To read this news in Hindi language, click here]

EXCERPT:
PATNA: Around 59 per cent of the school students and approximately 60 per cent of the population consume tobacco in various forms in Bihar, this was revealed at a workshop organised here to mark the first anniversary of law coming to prohibit smoking at public places.

"As per the WHO report 58.9 per cent students of class 8 to 10 standard consume tobacco in various forms in Bihar schools...Around 60 per cent of the population of Bihar consume tobacco," Mr Mahavir Das, Ex-Director-in-Chief Health Services, Bihar said a t a function organised by Bihar Voluntary Health Association (BVHA).

About 5.4 million people die every year from tobacco related disease worldwide and this figure could touch 10 million by the end of 2030 and seven million will fall prey to such diseases in south Asia alone, Mr Das said and added that 10 lakh people die in India from tobacco related disease.

If serious and concerted efforts like awareness campaign and other measures were not taken the number of deaths caused from tobacco consumption could rise phenomenally and may touch 160 million by 2050. Read more....

-------------------------------------------------------

Tombakookills News Bulletin
Tuesday, 06 October 2009
issue- 727

ITC seeks option to Nepal's troubled Terai
Prokerala News, Tiruvananthapuram, Kerala

[To read this news in Hindi language, click here]

EXCERPT:
Frustrated by the continuous turbulence in Nepal's Terai plains and threats by over 100 armed groups, Indian tobacco major ITC is seeking a backup for its tobacco factory where production can continue unhindered.

Twenty-three years ago, ITC set up its India-Nepal-Britain venture in Nepal, Surya Nepal Private Ltd, with a state of the art tobacco factory in Simra town on the India-Nepal border.
However, now Nepal's largest private sector enterprise is planning to open a new factory in Tanahun district in central Nepal, away from the predatory armed underground groups of Terai.

"We have purchased the land and hope to construct a factory at the earliest," said Ravi K.C., corporate general manager at Surya Nepal. "We are building the new factory to ensure uninterrupted production." To be built on over 13 acres at Seratar, nearly 30 km from Pokhara airport, the new ITC factory may start a new trend of Indian joint ventures in Nepal shifting base from the Terai to the hills, where security is better.

According to Nepal's home ministry, there are nearly 108 armed groups active in the Terai with most of them being criminal gangs living on extortion, kidnap and killings. The Terai also witnesses the maximum shutdowns in Nepal as well as highway blockades.

Surya Nepal has a garments factory in the Terai as well. KC said that the company has yet not decided whether it will shut down its Simra factory totally. The market leader in Nepal, Surya Nepal manufactures 6,000 million cigarette sticks annually. With cigarettes and readymade garments, its total turnover is over $100 million. One of the highest tax payers in Nepal, it pays an annual tax of about NRS 4,000 million. Surya Nepal was hard-hit by the Maoist insurgency that lasted for 10 years and frequently targeted business houses with Indian and American investment. Besides ITC, the other shareholders are Nepali individuals as well as British American Tobacco. Read more...

-----------------------------------------------------------
Tambakookills News Bulletin
Friday, 09 October 2009
issue- 732

Tobacco export up 39% during Apr-Aug on demand surge
Business Standard, New Delhi, Delhi

[To read this news in Hindi language, click here]

EXCERPT:
Tobacco export rose by 39 per cent between April and August to about Rs 1,780 crore on robust demand overseas which also pushed up prices of Indian tobacco. India is the third largest tobacco exporter in the world.

"India exported raw tobacco and tobacco products worth Rs 1,779.68 crore during April-August this year, compared with Rs 1,281.54 crore in the same period last year. Demand from Western Europe and African countries rose," an official with the state-owned Tobacco Board said. "Global tobacco output in the last 4-5 years has been stagnant whereas demand has grown by up to one per cent a year despite anti-tobacco norms in some countries, triggering a price rise," another Board official said.

This apart, shortfall in some of the producing countries like Zimbabwe boosted demand for Indian tobacco, he added. However, the rise in the volume of export is not that dramatic as the value. Tobacco shipment, comprising raw tobacco and its products, rose marginally to 1,04,940 tonnes in the first five months of this fiscal against 1,01,708 tonnes a year earlier.

While raw tobacco export has surged both in value and volume terms, that of tobacco products has lagged. India has shipped abroad raw tobacco worth Rs 1,497.59 crore from April to August against Rs 1,039.30 crore in the year-ago period, while in volume terms, the export shot up to 94,151 tonnes from 89,443 tonnes. The shipment value of tobacco products rose to Rs 282.09 crore till August this fiscal from Rs 242.24 crore a year earlier. However, the export volume has declined to 10,789 tonnes from 12,265 tonnes during the period.

Indian tobacco prices have skyrocketed on a surge in demand overseas. Officials said the average price of tobacco in the ongoing auction in Karnataka is going to exceed the record price soon.The rate was ruling at Rs 108.02 per kg as on October 6, compared with the record auction price of Rs 109.71 a kg in the last season, according to official data. Read more....

----------------------------------------------------
TambakooKills News Bulletin
Monday, 12 October 2009
issue-737

Tobacco leading cause of rheumatism: Study
The Times of India, Pune, Maharashtra

[To read this news in Hindi language, click here]

EXCERPT:
PUNE: Among the 8,000 people surveyed in Pune city, about 10 per cent complained of one or the other kind of rheumatic pain. The data, which is part of an ongoing study, revealed that most of the people surveyed consumed tobacco in one form or the other.

"The study to measure burden of rheumatism on the Indian population at 17 cities/towns shows that at least 10-15 per cent of the population suffers from arthritis or some form of rheumatism. And the use of tobacco has emerged as a leading risk factor for rheumatic pains. This public health issue is yet to be recognised by the Indian medical faculty and community," said rheumatologist Arvind Chopra. Chopra has combined his skills with that of the gram panchayat at Bhigwan village, where too 9,000 people were surveyed, to create an exemplary community model of rheumatic disease.

The Bhigwan COPCORD (Community Oriented programme and control of Rheumatic Diseases) programme has completed 13 successful years of providing free of cost arthritis diagnosis and treatment services and acquiring community research data. "Started in 1996 as the maiden Indian programme on arthritis, the programme has covered a population of 9,000 in village Bhigwan and over 45,000 in the neighbouring 187 villages," said Chopra.

Though initiated in over 19 countries worldwide by the WHO- ILAR (International league of rheumatology) as the arthritis programme primarily targeting rural communities in developing countries, it is only the Bhigwan project that has continued beyond the initial stage of population survey to measure community illness burden, added Chopra.

The WHO used the Bhigwan data to project the rheumatic burden in South East Asia in its seminal technical research publication titled The Burden of Musculoskeletal conditions at the start of the new millennium. Report of a WHO Scientific group, 2003', added Chopra. Notably, 15 per cent people surveyed in Bhigwan village had complained of rheumatic pain. The Bhigwan model has been adopted to launch several population-based rheumatic musculoskeletal studies in Jammu, Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata, Pune, Ralegaon Siddhi, Manipur, Bikaner, Patiala, Thiruvananthapuram and Kozikode. Over 35,000 people have already been surveyed, added Chopra. Read more...

-----------------------------------------------------------
Tambakookills News Bulletin
Tuesday, 13 October 2009
issue- 740

Tobacco Board may act against growers for crossing production limit
Daily News And Analysis, Guntur, Andhra Pradesh

[To read this news in Hindi language, click here]


EXCERPT:
The Tobacco Board may get tough with the tobacco farmers, who produce more tobacco than authorised by the Board, for avoiding glut and the consequent price crash. A clear indication to this effect was given by the Tobacco Board chairman S Suresh Babu at the interactive session with the tobacco growers here last evening. He warned that the "erring" tobacco growers may be penalised and their licences to cultivate tobacco may be cancelled.

Giving out statistics, he revealed that tobacco production in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka was 350million kg which is 60million kg more than the last year's production. The next crop is expected to be more. At present about 45 million kg of tobacco has no buyers, he said. "If the cultivators ignore our advice and produce more, the glut will worsen and the prices may nose-dive," he lamented.

The Tobacco Board Act, 1975, enjoins the Tobacco Board to regulate production of tobacco and ensure that the tobacco growers get fair and remunerative price. Read more...

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tambakookills News Bulletin
Thursday, 15 October 2009
Issue-746

Task Force for tobacco control in Assam
Daily News and Analysis, Guwahati, Assam

[To read this news in Hindi language, click here]

EXCERPT:
A task force comprising personnel of Guwahati Municipal Corporation and Assam Tobacco Control Cell has been constituted to stop tobacco consumption in the state. GMC's chief health officer Dr Banajit Choudhury today said the task force would visit public establishments like hotels, restaurants, discos, bars, libraries, cultural halls, public buildings etc. for monitoring and compliance of the smoke free law.

It has also been decided to advertise in newspapers about the ban on sale of tobacco products to and by minors, sale of tobacco products within 100m of educational institutions and ban on prominent advertisement of tobacco products.

The GMC would select some educational institutions to create awareness in the first phase, Choudhury said adding raids would be conducted near some educational institutions for violation of the law and issue anti tobacco message in Property Tax forms and receipts. Read more...

---------------------------------------------------------------------
Tambakookills News Bulletin
Friday, 16 October 2009
issue- 749

US report confirms smoking bans cut heart attacks
Daily News Analysis, New Delhi, Delhi

[To read this news in Hindi language, click here]

EXCERPT:
Indoor smoking bans lower the risk of heart attack, even among nonsmokers, by reducing exposure to secondhand smoke, a panel of US health experts confirmed in a report on Thursday. The report, produced by the Institute of Medicine for the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, provides the most definitive evidence to date that laws that ban smoking from workplaces, restaurants and bars can reduce cardiovascular-related health problems where they are imposed.

"Secondhand smoke kills. What this report shows is that smoke-free laws reduce heart attacks in nonsmokers," said CDC director Dr Thomas Frieden."But still, most of the country lives in areas that don't have comprehensive smoke-free laws covering all workplaces, all restaurants and all bars," he said. The CDC asked the independent Institute of Medicine to review research on smoking bans and secondhand smoke after some studies suggested that banning smoking might significantly reduce heart attacks.

The panel of experts reviewed research including 11 studies of smoking bans in the United States, Canada and Europe showing "remarkable consistency" in the association between bans and reductions in heart attack rates, which in some studies ranged from 6% to 47%. "There is a causal relationship ... smoking bans decrease the rate of heart attacks," the panel concluded in its report. Advocacy groups said they hoped the report would encourage passage of more smoking bans, which the CDC estimates covers about 40% of the population.

"The report confirms beyond a doubt what we have always known -- that smoke-free laws are the most effective way to reduce health problems associated with secondhand smoke," said John Seffrin, CEO of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network. "In the United States, 27 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have enacted smoke-free laws that include restaurants and bars," added Matthew Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. "The new report should spur the remaining 23 states to enact comprehensive laws that include all workplaces, restaurants and bars."

The 205-page report said exposure to secondhand smoke could raise the risk of heart disease by 25 to 30%. Secondhand smoke kills an estimated 46,000 Americans from heart disease every year, according to the CDC and the American Heart Association.The research provided no clear measure of the impact that smoking bans have on health because of variables involving exposure rates for secondhand smoke, ban enforcement, the underlying health of those affected and other factors.

Committee chairwoman Dr Lynn Goldman of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore predicted the report would help inform political debate in US states where new bans are under consideration. "This really communicates the benefits for nonsmokers. Nonsmokers are at risk. It's always been an important point. Now we know it's not only in terms of cancer risk but cardiovascular disease risk," she said. "We obviously want to encourage smokers to quit. But we also want to promote public policies which ban smoking that would expose nonsmokers to the risk of heart-attack from second-hand smoke," said Dr Elizabeth Ross of the American Heart Association, which strongly advocates smoking bans. Read more...

-------------------------------------------------------
Tambakookills News Bulletin
Wednesday, 21 October 2009
issue-754

Child health and tobacco
The Indian Express, New Delhi, Delhi

[To read this news in Hindi language, click here]

EXCERPT:
Over the years, numerous studies and surveys have been conducted across various locations and geographies, and the results all say the same thing — tobacco use by adults does have a direct and extremely negative impact on the health of children. Children can be affected by tobacco in many ways, be it through adults smoking around children, or pregnant women smoking or chewing tobacco before delivery. In the first case, the health effects are still avoidable if the adults take the precaution of not smoking around the children, or keeping tobacco use as much away from the children as possible. However, what most people do not realise is the psychological impact on their kids. While we speaking of curbing tobacco use in public, it becaome smore important to realise that our individual responsibility in limiting the exposure of the youth towards the use of tobacco as an everyday activity. If a parent smokes around a child, the child invariably sees it as socially acceptable behavior and takes it as an excuse to start smoking or chewing tobacco.

A recent survey conducted in Indonesia has found that children living in households with a smoker are more malnourished than children in non-smoking households. The study involved more than 33,000 households from rural Java, Indonesia and explores the association between tobacco expenditures and food expenditures and its impact on the nutritional outcomes of children under five years of age.

This study also threw up a few other serious findings, such as — most poor households with at least one smoker spend almost 10 per cent of their income on cigarettes. For families living on or barely above the poverty line in India, such figures would mean that with the costs incurred through tobacco use, very little is left over for simple yet vital needs such as food. It is common knowledge that most households in the rural and semi-urban regions in India, the man of the house is the sole breadwinner. In such circumstances, when a substantial amount of the earning is thrown away in tobacco use, it impacts the nutrition of the children in these households. Moreover such families live in slums and have small houses, so the children are directly exposed to tobacco through proximity to the smoker in the family, thus making the undernoursihed children exposed to the dangers of tobacco as well. Read more....

-------------------------------------------------------------------
Tambakookills News Bulletin
Thursday, 22 October 2009
Issue- 756

Smoking can cause chronic lower back pain
The Times of India, New Delhi, Delhi

[To read this news in Hindi language, click here]

EXCERPT:
In the study, boffins identified a higher rate of chronic lower back pain among people who smoke every day, reports News.com.au. According to Professor Michael Cousins, the research suggests that smoking interferes with pain transmitters, causing osteoporosis. The condition resulted in chronic lower back pain which could also trigger a "downward spiral" in a person's life, he warned. "Chronic pain is now regarded as a disease in its own right," said Prof Cousins, who is director of the Pain Management Research Institute at Sydney's Royal North Shore Hospital.

"Patients with it rapidly progress into a downward spiral of physical, psychological and environmental changes, resulting in major deterioration of all life activities, in their work, family and community roles," he added. Prof Cousins commented on the study published in the journal Clinical and Investigative Medicine, and included more than 73,000 people aged 20-59. Read More...

------------------------------------------------------
Tambakookills News Bulletin
Monday, 26 October 2009
Issue-759

Majority of Indians favour ban on smoking: Survey
Business Standard, New Delhi, Delhi

[To read this news in Hindi language, click here]

EXCERPT:
A year after the ban on smoking in public places came in force, a study has found that an overwhelming majority of Indians favour the regulations prohibiting smoking at workplaces and public arenas. More than nine out of 10 Indians surveyed in four cities favour the regulations prohibiting smoking in public places.

Support for regulations to ensure the ban is also strong in each city, with a large majority of those interviewed in Delhi (90 per cent), Mumbai (98 per cent), Chennai (92 per cent) and Kolkata (93 per cent) favouring it. Citizens in the four major metros also understand that second hand smoke is a serious risk to people's health. Ninety-two per cent believe exposure to second hand smoke is a serious health hazard for the non-smoker. In addition, 91 per cent majority indicate that it bothers them a lot when they are exposed to second hand smoke, according to the study conducted by NGO, the Voluntary Health Association of India.

Consumers interviewed in the four cities indicated that restaurants and bars were healthier and more enjoyable now that they are smoke-free. Seventy-two per cent of Indians interviewed agreed that these places were healthier and 88 per cent felt that it is nice to go out and enjoy themselves at local restaurants and bars without smelling like smoke when they get home. Read more...

----------------------------------------------------
Tambakookills News Bulletin
Wednesday, 28 October 2009
issue- 762

Exercise puts smokers off ciggies
The Times of India, New Delhi, Delhi

[To read this news in Hindi language, click here]

EXCERPT:
Exercise makes cigarettes look less attractive in the eyes of smokers, claims a new study. The study from the University of Exeter shows for the first time that exercise can lessen the power of cigarettes and smoking-related images to grab the attention of smokers. The study, published in the journal Addiction, involved 20 moderately heavy smokers, who had abstained from cigarettes for 15 hours before the trial. During two visits to our laboratory participants began by being shown smoking-related and neutral images, and then spent either 15 minutes sitting or exercising on a stationary bike at a moderate intensity. Afterwards, they were again shown the images.

While the participants were shown the images, the research team used the latest eye tracking technology to measure and record their precise eye movements. They were able to show not only the length of time people looked at smoking-related images but also how quickly pictures of cigarettes could grab their attention, compared with non-smoking matched images. The study showed an 11 percent difference between the time the participants spent looking at the smoking-related images after exercise, compared with the after sitting. Also, after exercise, participants took longer to look at smoking-related images. Exercise, therefore, appears to reduce the power of the smoking-related images to grab visual attention.

Lead author, University of Exeter PhD student Kate Janse Van Rensburg said: "We know that smoking-related images can be powerful triggers for smokers who are abstaining. While we are no longer faced with advertisements for cigarettes, smokers are still faced with seeing people smoking on television, in photographs or in person. We know that this makes it more difficult for them to quit. Read more...

------------------------------------------------------------
Tambakookills News Bulletin
Thursday, 29 October 2009
Issue-765

Study finds smoking law going up in smoke
The Telegraph, Kolkata, West Bengal

[To read this news in Hindi Language, click here]


EXCERPT:
A 12-city survey has suggested that the ban on smoking in public places is widely flouted in pubs and restaurants, but its simultaneous attempt to track indoor air pollution has encountered sharp criticism. The survey, carried out over a six-month period by the Voluntary Health Association of India and 11 other non-government agencies, found people smoking in 127 out of 211 indoor public places. At seven out of a set of 24 indoor public places where smoking was observed, the restaurant or pub employees actively assisted smoking by lighting cigarettes for customers, association officials said. "This clearly shows violations of the ban on public smoking," said a senior association official.

In nine cities, the proportion of sites where people were seen smoking exceeded 50 per cent. But the association's attempt to measure and interpret indoor air pollution at these sites has drawn criticism for what one expert has described as "a serious problem in the design of the study".
Using hand-held pollution detectors, the activists posed as customers in pubs and restaurants for 30 minutes to an hour, discretely measuring the levels of airborne particulate matter —an indicator of pollution — less than 2.5 microns in size. "Particles of this size are small enough to be inhaled deep into the lungs," said Pramesh Chandra Bhatnagar, director of community health at the association. The levels were significantly higher where people were observed smoking than in places where people were not observed smoking.

But a senior Central Pollution Control Board expert who was not associated with the survey said its design does not allow it to establish a connection between the levels of pollution observed and smoking. "The crucial thing to do is to pinpoint the source — through chemical fingerprints (of particulate matter)," the board official said. "There are methods to establish whether the source of the particulate matter is tobacco smoke." Read More...

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tambakokills News Bulletin
Monday, 02 November 2009
issue-767

Spotlight: In Memoriam: Prof Sir John Crofton
Dr Muherman Harun, Indonesia
**********************************

WARRIOR AGAINST TUBERCULOSIS AND TOBACCO PASSED AWAY

The world's gallant warrior against Global Disease (tuberculosis) and
Global Threat (tobacco) died at the age of 97.

His name is JOHN CROFTON, one of the pre-eminent physicians of the 20th
century. Born on 27 March 1912 in Dublin, Ireland. he passed away
peacefully, on 3rd November 2009, at home, as his wife Lady Eileen was
standing by his side. He was greatly loved by his five children and 11
grandchildren. And he has many, many friends throughout the world.  He
came from a doctor's family. His father is a GP.

He graduated from the Cambridge University and was admitted as one of
the youngest- ever Members of the Royal College of Physicians in 1937.

During 1939 - 1945 he served as a medical specialist with the Royal Army
Medical  Corps, in France, Egypt, Eritrea, Greece, Malta and Germany.
After serving with the Medical Research Council at the Brompton Hospital
and at the Royal Postgraduate School of Medicine of London, he became
Professor of Respiratory Diseases and Tuberculosis at the Edinburgh
University in 1952.

Sir John  developed a protocol that revolutionized tuberculosis
treatment and control in the 1950's. Hence he was dubbed the world TB
pioneer whose work shaped the revolutionary course  of  TB treatment and
control over the past 50 years.

Laying the foundation for an international and historic reputation, was
his landmark report in the British Medical Journal (1950) and studies on
the treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis with streptomycin, combined with
PAS (para-aminosalicylic acid) and eventually with isoniazid. For almost
35 years thereafter these standards were set for the successful
treatment of TB throughout the world.

John Crofton and his major tuberculosis research team identified the
causes of failed drug treatment, which was mainly due to drug resistance
resulting from bad or risky therapy, or from failed adherence to
treatment. The three-drug regimen with streptomycin, PAS and isoniazid
was uniformly successful in new patients. And his research team was the
first in the world to claim that 100% success in the treatment of
tuberculosis was possible!  To counter medical skepticism, within three
years, between 1954 and 1957 Crofton's team succeeded to halve the
Tuberculosis notification rates in Edinburgh!

Even today his outstanding contributions to the control of tuberculosis,
is evident in the STOP-TB strategy established for the next decade. Sir
John's approach contributed to the development of  DOTS strategy (DOTS
is an acronym for Directly Observed Treatment Short course) of the
International Union Against TB and Lung Disease (The Union),  which is
now used in 182 countries.  With this DOTS  strategy, the world has now
cured more than 10 million people over the past decade.

John Crofton, the bustling, small-of-stature man has galvanized the
hospitals and doctors, to the extent that he was able to close over 90
per cent of the TB beds in Edinburgh!  Among many other therapeutic
achievements,  he showed  to the everlasting gratitude of the working
people, that they could continue to work whilst being treated for TB!.

This fact  still stands firm today! Other positive outcomes of
successful  treatment completion is, that surprisingly, the disease
would not relapse, even when extensive lung lesions or destroyed lungs
still exist (own personal experience)! Annual routine check-ups then
became obsolete (Amsterdam Consultation Bureau for TB Control).

Furthermore, successful prime treatment (the first-ever TB treatment)
prevents the development of the feared MDR-TB (multidrug resistant TB),
in the same time also effectively delaying the development of AIDS in
HIV co-infected TB.

For his outstanding services he was honoured as Knight Bachelor in 1977
and received  the Title of Sir. He has 11 honorary
Fellowships/Memberships and  has 3 honorary degrees as Doctor Honoris
Causa. He has been awarded 6 medals and has 9 Honorary Appointments in
several parts of the world.

His awards have indeed  been too many for full elaboration in this
context.

The most precious award befitting, but alas eluding him,  would be the
Nobel Peace Prize for  having been in the forefront for 70 years
battling the global disease: Tuberculosis which kills 2.5 million people
and global disaster: Tobacco, which kills 5.4 million every year!

From 1963-66 he was the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine Edinburgh
University.

And from 1973-76 President of the Royal College of Physicians of
Edinburgh.

He was  Chairman of the International Union Against Tuberculosis and
Lung Disease and  Member of WHO's Consultative Panel on TB.

With Norman Horne and Fred Miller, in 1990 and 1999, he wrote 'Clinical
Tuberculosis' for third world countries. More than 150 000 books have
been distributed  and translated in 19 languages to 125 countries. He
has lectured and advised in over 50 countries The second edition was
translated and published by Muherman Harun cs in 2002. The Book has an
introduction by Prof Achmad Sujudi, then the Minister of Health of
Indonesia.

With David Simpson in 2002 he wrote Tobacco, A Global Threat. It has
been translated and circulated in Urdu, India, China,  Hungary,
Bulgaria, French for francophone African countries, Sri Lanka. And
others. The second edition was translated into Indonesian and published
by us again with an introduction by Prof F.A. Moeloek, Chairman National
Commission for TB Control and Prof Judith Mackay, Senior Policy Adviser,
WHO.

At his remarkable age of 93, he continues to tirelessly campaign for TB,
tobacco control and other health issues. Towards his death, his mind
remained miraculously active (if not proactive!), especially in the
battle against Tobacco and eventually against alcohol abuse.

Sir John had always been very gracious in his correspondences and ever
encouraging us in our work. He was always grateful for even very small
tokens of our sympathy. When we met him at the World Lung Health
Congress in Boston, he hugged me as if we have known each other for many
years.

His penultimate letter to us of 23 June 2009:
-----------------
"In case anything happens to me, may I take this opportunity for
thanking you for all your help over the years both in TB and tobacco,
and also your incidental kindnesses in sending me charming little local
presents from time to time.

With all our fondest regards to you both and all my thanks for so much

Yours

JOHN CROFTON"
-----------------

The world misses him dearly.

Dr Muherman Harun
Jakarta Indonesia

New images to replace pictorial warnings on tobacco packs
The Hindu, Chennai, Tamil Nadu

[To read this news in Hindi language, click here]

EXCERPT:
Responding to complaints that pictorial warnings on tobacco packs are ineffective, the Union Ministry of Health has decided to change the images. A senior official in the Ministry said the process had been kick-started.

The changes are being considered specifically because of insistent pressure from civil society organisations that the current images of a scorpion, diseased lungs and X-ray of the lungs are mild and have not served their purpose of deterrence. The official said the mild pictures were chosen to usher in the concept of pictorial warnings. The government was aware of the pressing demand to change them.

It would be ready with the images at least three months ahead of June, in order to prepare the industry, according to official sources. The government is mandated to change the images every year, as per the regulations of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. The current law to display images to occupy 40 per cent of the space on packs came into effect on May 31, 2009.
Pictures suggested to the Ministry include powerful ones used in other countries, including South America, and will be examined. The images will be field-tested before the Ministry approves a fresh set of pictorial warnings.

Three studies conducted by the Healis-Sekhsaria Institute for Public Health in Mumbai recently showed there were serious inadequacies in the implementation of the pictorial warning criteria and that the current warnings were not properly understood by people. P.C. Gupta, director of the institute, said: "The issue of pictorial warnings on tobacco products has been a long-running battle… The dilution of the pictorial warnings themselves…indicates there has been a clear lack of commitment from the government in implementing warnings."

"Changing the images used on tobacco packs is essential," says E. Vidhubala of the Tobacco Cessation Centre, Cancer Institute, here. The current images are unable to invoke any direct co-relation to the harmful effects of tobacco use. Read more...

--------------------------------------------------------------
Tambakookills News Bulletin
Wednesday, 11 November 2009
issue-772

Ban on smoking: City to breathe easier
The Times of India, Bhubaneswar, Orissa

[To read this news in Hindi language, click here]

EXCERPT:
BHUBANESWAR: If all goes well, Bhubaneswar will become "smoke-free" within the next six months. The state government on Tuesday announced to crack down on smokers in public places in the city. To ensure that the general public is not forced to become passive smokers, anyone found violating the rule will be fined up to Rs 200.

"Imposing fine on smokers in public places would definitely be a big step towards making the city smoke-free," Health minister Prasanna Acharya said. "It was due to several arrangements needed to implement the rule that led to the delay in imposing it," he added. He further said that the rule should not be confined only to offices, hotels, market places and malls, but awareness must also be created among a larger section of the people who live in the city's slums.

Designated officials, including the police, drug control inspectors and food inspectors will be the assigning officials under the Cigarette and Other Tobacco Product Act 2003. The state government may also consider notifying additional authorized officers to implement the provisions of the rules. Health secretary Anu Garg said, "We are going to take several measures like setting up flying squads for monitoring, enforcement and compliance, to launch toll-free help line and online reporting system and establish a mechanism for issuing challans or compounding of offence to ensure that the rule is being implemented properly. An assessment will be done by the monitoring committee to observe the level of compliance of the law before the official declaration of smoke free Bhubaneswar in the next six months."

"Besides protecting children, women and non-smokers from the harmful consequences of smoking, such an initiative will improve the global image of Bhubaneswar and will be helpful in promoting business and tourism," said Itishree Kanungo, an activist of Aparajita-VHAI, an organization working for anti-tobacco movement. "I think this is a very good step. It will solve the problem of passive smoking forced on women, children and non-smokers. The administration should be complimented if it works," Rita Pani, a corporate executive, said.

However, not everyone is happy about it. "This is a democratic country. Has the administration taken the views of the smokers to work out a solution? Such laws are not enforced even in cities in western countries," Arun Mohanty, a smoker, said. According to sources, every year nine lakh tobacco deaths occur in India. India is the second largest producer of tobacco with 240 million tobacco users, nearly one third of world's total 800 million tobacco users. Orissa is the second highest among female chewing with 34.9 per cent after Mizoram's 60.7 per cent. Read more...

-------------------------------------------------------
Tambakookills News Bulletin
Thursday, 12 November 2009
Issue-774

Awareness needed on bad effects of tobacco: Collector
The Hindu, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu

[To read this news in Hindu language, click here]

EXCERPT:
Concerted efforts by the Government to stop promotional advertisements of tobacco products and sensitisation drives have led to a decline in the number of new tobacco users. While this is an encouraging sign, more awareness on the ill-effects needs to be generated to wean the existing users from smoking or chewing tobacco, District Collector P. Umanath said here on Wednesday.
Opening a Tobacco Cessation Centre at G. Kuppuswamy Naidu Memorial Hospital, Dr. Umanath said the habit of smoking had thrived because a social stigma had not been attached to it, unlike in the case of alcohol consumption. There was not much pressure on a smoker from the people around to quit the habit. Apart from addiction, this was the other factor that contributed to people continuing to use tobacco products.

The Collector termed the opening of the centre as a rare initiative that was the need of the hour. People needed help to stop using tobacco. So such guidance centres became very relevant to the drive against tobacco use, he pointed out. "Give wide publicity on the centre as people should know of such a facility that can save them from the dangers posed by tobacco use," he told the hospital. Dean of the hospital Ramkumar Raghupathy said Tobacco Cessation Centres were few in number across the country and the centre opened here on Wednesday was only the 19th in the country.

Such centres were important in disseminating information to the people on the cancer in the mouth, aesophagus, lungs and the heart diseases that tobacco could cause. "Many legal battles have brought out the ill-effects of tobacco. World Health Organisation reports say 65 per cent of the men smoke and 20 per cent chew tobacco. The Tobacco Cessation Centre has been opened with the view that valuable lives should not go up in smoke," he said.

The centre was a joint initiative of the hospital, the Valavadi Narayanaswamy Cancer Centre (VNCC) attached to it and the Coimbatore Cancer Foundation and the Confederation of Indian Industry. Read more...

-----------------------------------------------------------
Tambakookills News Bulletin
Monday, 16 November 2009
issue- 776

Over 1.7 million children work in beedi-rolling industry: Study
IANS News, India

[To read this news in Hindi language, click here]

EXCERPT:
Over 1.7 million children work as labourers in India's beedi-rolling industry, according to a study by public health organisations and NGOs released on Children's Day Saturday. Authors of the study urged the government to take urgent measures to address the issue. A beedi is a hand-rolled cigarette and, according to experts, contains three times the amount of nicotine and carbon monoxide than other cigarettes. According to NGOs and public health organisations participating in the study, the beedi industry prefers to engage children as their nimble fingers are more adept at rolling beedis.

The study gave an example of seven-year-old Madhabi Khatoon of West Bengal's Murshidabad district. Rolling beedis since she was five, Madhabi's nimble fingers can now roll 400 a day.
'Madhabi does not go to school or play with her friends, as her mother thinks earning is more important than education. She is among the many children whose childhood has been snatched away by the beedi industry,' said Binoy Matthew of the Voluntary Health Association of India (VHAI). 'Unless the government acts now, there is little hope for children like her,' he added.

The study says that children in this occupation are made to work up to 14 hours a day with no breaks or holidays and are forced to drop out of school. 'On the health front, because they are constantly exposed to hazardous chemicals and tobacco dust, these children suffer from tuberculosis, postural and eye problems, anaemia, lung and skin diseases,' the report said. 'After continuous beedi rolling and exposure to tobacco, the skin on the children's fingertips begins to thin, and they are unable to roll beedis by the age of 45. They have to resort to begging as they know no other trade or occupation,' it added.

Besides VHAI, child rights groups like CRY, Butterflies, Pratham, Save the Children, Bachpan Bachao Andolan and Unicef took part in the study. Suggesting reforms, the study said that the government should immediately enforce the provisions of Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act 1986 to prevent employment of children in beedi rolling or other hazardous occupations. Read more...

---------------------------------------------------------
Tambakookills News Bulletin
Wednesday, 18 November 2009
issue- 778

COPD fourth leading cause of deaths: expert
The Hindu, Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh

[To read this news in Hindi language, click here]

EXCERPT:
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is the fourth leading cause of the death in the world, retired chest physician G. Kullayappa has said. Talking to reporters in connection with the celebrations of World COPD Day on November 18, Dr. Kullayappa said 30 lakh people died of the disease every year in the world while smoking was the major cause of the disease.

A smoker was exposed to 4,000 harmful substances contained in the cigarette. Dr. Kullayappa pointed out that out of 20 cigars smoked by a primary smoker, three would definitely be shared by other non-smokers. Even the passive smokers were exposed to health hazards, he said. As per the Indian standards, a COPD patient was spending Rs. 32,000 a year. If the victims quit smoking in the initial stage, the damage has chances of being reversible, he said.

Highest number

He said Chennai was considered the city having the highest number of smokers while the total number in the country going up to 250 million. The disease could be diagnosed under a simple lung function test. Read more....

-----------------------------------------------------------
Tambakookills News Bulletin
Thursday, 19 November 2009
issue-781

Tobacco control laws not strictly enforced in State, says study
The Hindu, Tiruvananthapuram, Kerala

[ To read this news in Hindi language, click here]

EXCERPT:
One year after the Union government enacted the smoke-free air law, restricting smoking in public places, to protect individuals from the harmful effects of second-hand smoke, it is observed more in the breach, according to an Air Quality Monitoring Study conducted in 16 cities across the country.

Among the cities in Kerala chosen for the study, Thiruvananthapuram emerged on top when it came to violation of the smoke-free air law, followed by Ernakulam and Alappuzha. It observed that at all bars and toddy shops that the study team visited in Kerala, the air pollution was nine to 20 times higher than the hazardous level. It found that the air quality in rural bars was more hazardous than that in urban bars.

The study was conducted by the Voluntary Health Association of India in September 2009, to help evaluate the quality of air in public places like restaurants, bars and pubs. The air quality study was conducted by measuring particulate air pollution from second-hand smoke in 33 different indoor hospitality locations like restaurants, bars and movie theatres during their peak business hours. All these locations were required to be smoke-free as per the law.

The air quality was measured by TSI Sidepak AM510 Personal Aerosol Monitors. The data collected was analysed by the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in New York, U.S. According to the law enacted by India to contain second-hand smoking — Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act — smoking is not allowed in enclosed public spaces. However, places serving 30 or more persons may allow smoking as long as dedicated smoking rooms (DSRs) have been set up. Read more...

-----------------------------------------------------
Tambakookills News Bulletin
Tuesday, 24 November 2009
ank- 790

Workshop on tobacco control
The Hindu Chennai, Tamil Nadu

[To read this news in Hindi language, click here]

EXCERPT:
The significance of ensuring the psychological well-being of students, starting with those in schools, as a prime measure to keep them away from tobacco was emphasised by speakers at a workshop here on Monday.

The daylong workshop on tobacco control for Chennai Corporation officials, in charge of enforcing the ban on smoking in public places, was organised by the Directorate of Public Health. Doctors, who participated in the discussion, said bringing about "lifestyle changes" in the students would go a long way in stopping them from using tobacco.

The Director of Public Health S. Elango, who ran through the history of tobacco use, said that the first concerns about the effect on health was voiced in 1604, but the first study report on the ills of smoking was released in the US in 1964.

Referring to the studies done in Tamil Nadu to underscore the need to enforce the ban on smoking in public places, he said smoking affected not just the smokers but also others who are exposed to it. He said that seven per cent of children in the State use tobacco and one in three students were exposed to smoke in their own house and half of the students were exposed to smoke in public places. Read more...

---------------------------------------------------
Tambakookills News Bulletin
Wednesday, 25 November 2009
Issue- 794

Drop in smoking cuts cancer deaths in Europe
Reuters India News, India

[To read this news in Hindi language, click here]

EXCERPT:
A decline in smoking in Europe and better screening mean fewer people are dying of cancer, but lung cancer deaths in women are rising in places like Scotland and Hungary where more women smoke, doctors said on Monday.

Early diagnosis and better treatments have pushed down deaths from cervical cancer and breast cancer, and declining smoking levels contributed to large falls in deaths from lung and other tobacco-related cancers in men, according to a study in the Annals of Oncology cancer journal.

The study of data from 1990-1994 and 2000-2004 showed overall European cancer death rates fell by nine percent in men and eight percent in women in the second period from the first.

But researchers said there were wide disparities in cancer death rates between different EU countries, and said some countries where alcohol and tobacco consumption has increased had seen a rise in deaths from lung, mouth, pharynx and oesophagus cancers.

"Further reduction of tobacco smoking remains the key priority for cancer control in Europe," Cristina Bosetti, head of the cancer unit at Italy's Mario Negri department of epidemiology, wrote in the study. Read more...

-----------------------------------------------
Tambakoo Kills News Bulletin
Tuesday, 01 December 2009
issue- 804

No smoking at IFFI venue, film stars told
The Times of India, Panaji, Goa

[To read this news in Hindi Language, click here]

EXCERPT:
The National Organisation for Tobacco Eradication (NOTE) has taken objection to film stars smoking at the ongoing 40th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) venue here.

"Rajat Kapoor, Radhika Apte and other delegates were seen smoking within the INOX courtyard. This appeared in local newspapers. It is a violation of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA) 2003 which is operative in Goa since Oct 2, 2008," Shekhar Salkar, the NOTE general secretary, said in a written complaint sent to the organisers.

The complaint was addressed to Manoj Srivastava, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Entertainment Society of Goa (ESG), the co-host for IFFI along with the Directorate of Film Festivals.

While Rajat is here to promote his English film "And Once Again" directed by Amol Palekar, Radhika stars along with Rahul Bose in Bengali film "Antaheen", a film screened at the festival's Indian Panorama section.

NOTE has said that it was the organisers' legal and moral responsibility to ensure that "film stars and VIPs not be seen smoking as the younger generation would imitate the actions of these heroes and become addicted to smoking which will damage their health". Read more....

---------------------------------------------------------
Tambakoo Kills News Bulletin
Wednesday, 02 December 2009
issue- 808