Public Health on Top

Extensive advertisements are going on to promote Gul (a form of smokeless tobacco) which is noted for causing oral cancer and other fatal diseases. The Gul companies are running their advertisement on bill boards and wall painting in remote parts of the country which is the extreme violation of the amended tobacco control law. Besides, countrywide use of children into tobacco farming has increased to a great extent comparing the earlier years. Biting from the tobacco leaves is hampering the natural growth of the rural children which is entirely unwanted and unexpected. The other damages caused by tobacco farming have also reached their top and the local and international tobacco companies are behind the screen. They are also impeding the Rules finalization process for the amended tobacco control law. By influencing the Health Ministry in February last, the tobacco companies have succeeded to raise the deadline to implement pictorial warning on tobacco packets for two more months, and now they have one year to implement the imageries; and more shockingly only one type of pictorial warning will be used among the proposed seven types. Currently, the Rules are at the Law Ministry. We hope the Rules will be published in gazette soon without any further interference.