Anbumani Ramadoss

CHENNAI: A Central Tobacco Authority with over-arching powers to implement the provisions of the Tobacco Act will be set up in the next couple of months, Union Minister of Health Anbumani Ramadoss said on Wednesday.

The authority, which will comprise representatives from the Government, consumers, NGOs and the anti-tobaco lobby, will have powers that would lend teeth to the Act. It will go into the provisions of the Act and examine if there is any need to change the rules or introduce amendments.

The authority will also be responsible for generating awareness on the harmful effects of consuming different forms of tobacco. It will also have under its purview a tobacco-testing laboratory, Dr. Ramadoss said.

Authorities will also eventually be started in every State for implementation, supervision and monitoring, he added. "It is essential to set up such an authority because the Tobacco Act now is not implemented at all. For instance, smoking in restaurants and hotels, except in designated zones, is completely prohibited. That provision is followed more in violation," he said. A serious view of offences will be taken and punitive action enforced.

Ban in films

Further to the issue of banning smoking in movies, the Health Ministry has worked out, in conjunction with the Information and Broadcasting Ministry, certain principles that filmmakers must follow to get Censor Board clearance.

The provisions include: any film with a smoking scene will be given an A certificate; a committee must be formed by the crew to apply for permission to introduce a smoking scene making a case for why the film cannot be shot without the scene; and the character shown smoking in the film will have to make three or four appearances outside the film to provide the statutory warning, `Cigarette smoking is injurious to health'. This list will be submitted to the court, Dr. Ramadoss said.

Rehabilitation of farmers

The Ministry has also lined up alternative plans for the rehabilitation of tobacco farmers. They will be encouraged to cease cultivation of tobacco and take up medicinal plants. They require the same soil and climatic conditions as tobacco and will also be profitable to market, he said.

Medicinal Plant Processing Zones (MPPZ) will be set up with the Commerce Ministry, and these will provide seeds, know-how and implements to farmers, buy back the products and sell them in foreign or domestic markets.

"It is estimated that by 2050, medicinal plants will become a five trillion dollar industry. With the MPPZs in place, medicinal plants will become cash crops," he added.

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