Govt to use NRHM for anti-tobacco programme

The guidelines, released today by Ministry of Health on the occasion of World No Tobacco Day, come at a time when there is growing evidence to show that significant provisions of anti-tobacco law, including ban on sales in the vicinity of schools, have not really worked as well as was expected.

The guidelines ask states to use the NRHM personnel to implement National Tobacco Control Programme and see how best to integrate the two programmes. They stress on synergies between the two areas as also between NTCP and the health workers employed under the schemes to prevent Non Communicable Diseases including cancer, diabetes and Cardio Vascular Diseases.

With the Health Ministry now pursuing the states to ban gutkha, several states are coming on board. Madhya Pradesh was the first state to ban gutkha on April 1 this year. Soon, Kerala followed.

Now Bihar has also banned gutkha sale in the state and several other states are showing keenness to do so. The surge followed Health Ministry's recent letters to state governments to ban gutkha.

On the occasion, experts also spoke about the strong presence of tobacco lobbies in India. Former Minister of State for Health Dinesh Trivedi said, "Lobbies are very strong and can even dislodge ministers."

He called for a ban on tobacco production and said tobacco led to "unconscious suicide on the part of consumers". MORE