WHO report cites India's initiatives on tobacco control

A World Health Organisation report released today has cited India's multiple initiatives on tobacco control, improving access to proprietary medicines, and curbing acid attacks among examples of deploying the law to safeguard health.
The new report from WHO 'Advancing the right to health- the vital role of law' in collaboration with the International Development Law Organization (IDLO), the University of Sydney and Georgetown University in Washington DC describes ways in which law makes a crucial difference for public health.
The report also cited a soda tax in Mexico, salt limits in South Africa, plain tobacco packaging in Australia, national health insurance in Ghana, mandatory motorcycle helmets in Vietnam and health care in the US, as other examples of legal initiatives that have played a vital role in safeguarding and promoting good health around the world.

The report features case studies from around the world on how the law has improved the health and safety of populations, providing a resource for countries to learn from the experience of others.
"After considering the effect of smoking on both smokers and non-smokers, the Court (Supreme Court of India) issued an order prohibiting smoking in public places and requiring federal and state governments to 'take effective steps to ensure [the prohibition of] smoking' in 'auditoriums, hospital buildings, health institutions, educational institutions, libraries and court buildings, and public conveyances including railways".
"The effect of this order was to give constitutional protection against exposure to second-hand smoke in public places in India. In 2003, the Parliament of India passed the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act, which prohibits smoking in a 'public place', defined to include the places identified in the order of the Supreme Court. Cases like this illustrate that litigants and public health organizations, can be powerful agents for change," the report said.

The report said that in August 2014, Maharashtra became

the first state in India to ban the use of smokeless tobacco in a range of public places, with penalties for those caught chewing or spitting tobacco.
The report said that even in countries where the constitution does not protect the right to health, other constitutional rights may provide indirect protection.
"For example, although there is no right to health in the Indian Constitution, the Supreme Court has interpreted the constitutional right to life (Article 21) to impose a duty on the government to safeguard life, which extends to providing for emergency health care services," it said.

India's Patents Act provides an example of national legislation intended to restrict the practice of incremental patents and India amended its national patent laws in 2005 to bring them into compliance with Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), the report said while citing the example of Novartis AG v Union of India in the Supreme Court.
The report noted that in some countries, the right to food is justiciable, whether through constitutional recognition of the right to food or related human rights, or through framework legislation for food security.
"In a series of orders based on Article 21, the Supreme Court has ordered national and state governments to implement various programmes to ensure food access, including mid-day meal programmes in primary schools, converting the benefits offered under these schemes to legal entitlements, and expanding coverage," the report said.

The report noted laws that promote the safety and equality of women must be consistent with human rights standards, while responding to the specific challenges faced in each country.
Although they may include criminal penalties for domestic violence, "honour killings", and other forms of gender-based abuse, these laws alone will not be sufficient and public health approach to protecting women's health is therefore "interdisciplinary" in nature.
"India's national Ministry of Home Affairs responded to the growing number of acid attacks on women by drafting model rules that classify corrosive acids such as hydrochloric acid and sulphuric acid as poisons under India's Poisons Act," the report said.

Elaborating about the move, it said that under the rules, the strength of acids available for retail sale would be reduced, retailers of acids would require a licence, acid sales would be restricted to advancing the right to health, it said.