PANAJI: The National Organisation for Tobacco Eradication (
NOTE) and Consumer Voice, citing the example of Tamil Nadu, have written a second round of letters to various functionaries including the chief minister, health minister and the health secretary, urging to them to ban the use of e-cigarettes in the state.
NOTE has been working on tobacco intervention for many years in collaboration with Consumer Voice, a New Delhi based consumer rights organisation.
The letter mentions the recent advisory issued by the Union ministry of health and family welfare dated August 28, 2018, directing all states and union territories to ban the sale of e-cigarettes.
Taking this advisory forward, the Tamil Nadu government banned electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), commonly known as e-cigarettes, on September 3, becoming the ninth state to do so.
Bihar, Punjab, Maharashtra, Kerala, Karnataka, Mizoram, Jammu & Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh have already banned its use.
According to the GATS-2 (Global Adult Tobacco Survey) report, 9.7% of adults in Goa consume tobacco in some form. Of this percentage, 15% constitute males and 4% females. Highlighting the urgency of the ban, experts say that e-cigarettes are used to lure youth who then slowly gravitate towards cigarettes.
Consumer Voice, chief operating officer, Ashim Sanyal, said, “Such strong steps and its strict implementation are crucial for saving youngsters from jumping one addiction to another. We sincerely urge the government of Goa to ban e-cigarettes to save precious lives from nicotine addiction.”
Shekhar Salkar, president, National Organisation for Tobacco Eradication (NOTE) said, “These newer forms of addiction are destroying the young generations. Before it’s too late, we request our state government to completely ban e-cigarettes in the larger interest of public health and save our citizens from this nicotine menace.”
Picture used for representational purpose only
