Doctors call for Tobacco Free Kerala'

Thiruvananthapuram: Doctors, representing Tobacco Free Kerala, have made an appeal to all political parties to include curbing tobacco usage in their election manifestos.  At a press conference in Thiruvananthapuram, they listed several points including increase of taxes on tobacco products by 65 per cent. The tax on beedi and pan masala should be increased by 200 or 300 times, as they are cheap, and a 65 per cent increase would mean nothing , they said.

RCC faculty Dr P G Balagopal said that the Parliamentary Committee's decision to increase the size of pictorial warnings on cigarette packs to 65 per cent and not 85 per cent had to be condemned. This is another demand they want to find in manifestos.

In order to put a check on passive smoking, they said smokers' corners should be limited to international airports.   RCC Director Dr Paul Sebastian said that tobacco was responsible for 40 per cent cancers in Kerala. Former Additional Director of Health Services (Public Health) Dr AS Pradeep Kumar said that there should be strict implementation of the Indian tobacco control law COTPA, 2003.
Dr R Jayakrishnan, Associate Professor, RCC, pointed out that major political parties in Assam, had included tobacco control in their manifestos.

Other signatories to the representation are: Dr R Ramadas, Medical Superintendent, RCC; Dr KR Thankappan, Prof and Head, Achutha Menon Centre for Health Science Studies (AMCHSS); Dr S Sivasankaran, Professor of Cardiology, Sree Chitra Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology; Dr Ramani S Wesley, Head, Community Oncology, RCC; Dr Gigi Thomas, Associate Professor, RCC; and Dr GK Mini, AMCHSS.