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Paan display ban sends eateries in a tizzy 

There are also several paan shops near restaurants in towns with large Asian populations such as Leicester, Birmingham and parts of London such as Southall, Wembley and Harrow.

But owners have protested against Department of Health's proposals to impose a ban on display of tobacco in shops, since it will also affect the display and sale of paan , which is considered a key feature of Asian culture.

Ashraff Chaudhary, an Asian business leader, said, "It�?(TM)s a tradition from the Indian sub-continent to prepare a fresh paan in front of the customer, according to their requirements.

"If shopkeepers are not allowed to do that they will suffer. A lot of smaller businesses are not aware of the consultation."

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• Pictorial warnings on tobacco products in India from 30th November  

All tobacco products will display approved pictorial warnings and nicotine-tar levels from 30 November 2008, as per a notification issued by the Indian Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (dated 27 August 2008), in accordance with the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 2003. The implementation of pictorial warnings on tobacco products in India was initially planned for February 2007, but got deferred four times thereon.

Grim images of diseased lungs will appear on cigarette, bidi and gutkha packets, as per the notification, covering 40 per cent of the surface area of the tobacco packets, with the message: 'Tobacco kills/Smoking kills'.

The warnings were finally approved by a Group of Ministers (GoM)

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• Blanket ban on indoor smoking from Oct 2: Ramadoss 

Private offices and other establishments can no longer take the cover of having designated rooms for puffing cigarettes with the government sticking to plans to strictly enforce the ban on smoking indoors from October two.

And if the smokers cannot resist the urge to have a puff they will have to come out to the streets.

"From October 2, the government would introduce the no smoking policy in all indoor establishments," Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss told reporters in Bangalore on Tuesday. The "workplace smoke-free policy" is coming into effect to coincide with the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

"Smoking will not be permitted in any private or public building. Companies can no longer have designated smoking rooms.

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• Bollywood stars to campaign against smoking: Ramadoss 

Leading film stars will be part of a massive national campaign against tobacco consumption, Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss said here Tuesday, also inviting superstar Shah Rukh Khan to be part of it. "Tobacco consumption in India has increased from 15 percent to 26 percent in recent times and 14 percent of the tobacco users are below 15 years. Large-scale use of tobacco, alcohol and drug are the most serious health-related issues plaguing the country today. We need to control it and for that harsh measures are the need of the hour," he said.

"Even Shah Rukh Khan is welcomed to be part of the anti-smoking awareness campaign, provided he quits smoking," he told reporters on the sidelines of a function.

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Soon, grim images to scare smokers 

Grim images of diseased lungs will appear on cigarette, bidi and gutka packets from December 1.

Packs of all tobacco products will have to carry pictorial warnings — covering 40 per cent of the surface area — with the message: ‘Tobacco kills/Smoking kills’.

The revised packaging and labelling rules for tobacco products were published in the Gazette of India on Friday and will include all smoking and non-smoking forms of tobacco, confirmed Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss.

“Pictorial warnings will not only remind the tobacco user of the dangers but also those around him/her. Children, for example, can become a very strong pressure group to encourage their parents to give up tobacco use,” said Ramadoss.

The warnings got the go-ahead from a Group of Ministers (GoM), including Pranab Mukherjee, P.R. Dasmunsi, Oscar Fernandes, Kamal Nath, Jaipal Reddy and Ramadoss.

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India's ITC says tech arm acquires U.S. firm  

ITC Ltd, India's top cigarette firm, said on Tuesday its information technology arm has acquired U.S-based technology firm Pyxis Solutions for an undisclosed sum.

Last month, ITC Chairman Y.C. Deveshwar said the company was in talks to acquire a U.S.-based information technology firm and the acquisition would be made through ITC Infotech.

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Health dept clueless on smoking ban in pubs  

Come October 2 this year, and the bartender or the waiter won't come rushing with a lighter as soon as you put the cigarette between your lips while sitting in a pub or a restaurant. In May this year, the Union health ministry declared that the Centre would strictly enforce the ban on smoking in public places from October 2.

The announcement came after the existing law, brought out two-and-a-half years ago was modified to book offenders. Till now, the law has only been on paper.

The state health department, however, has no clue about the deadline. "We have not received any official letter from the Centre but if such a rule is to be enforced, the department would go whole hog for its effective implementation," health secretary Deepak Kumar said.

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Govt turns the heat on tobacco vendors near educational institutes  

Through an order, the Executive Magistrate-cum-Director Public Instruction (Schools), SK Setia, has prohibited nearly 125 shops from selling cigarettes and other tobacco products within 100 yards of all educational institutes in Chandigarh . The said shops face closure should they fail to comply with the order.

The order has come in response to a number of complaints filed by social activist Hemant Goswami, who is also a member of the 'National Steering Committee on Tobacco Control' constituted by the Union Government.

Earlier, the entire city was surveyed, and an NGO named 'Burning Brain Society' prepared a list of nearly 125 tobacco vendors selling tobacco products within 100 yards of any educational institution.

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No smoking in public places from Oct 2: Ramadoss  

Come October 2, smokers will have to take recourse to the streets to have a puff as the Centre has decided to ban smoking in public and private buildings.

Addressing a gathering on World Population Day, health minister Anbumani Ramadoss on Friday said smokers will be free to smoke only on roads and streets, not at private and public buildings.

"Smokers can have a puff at the risk of their health in private in their bedrooms provided they had the permission of their wives," Ramadoss said, adding that smoking in public and private buildings would be banned from October two.

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Golden Tobacco Q1 net rises 2.26 times  

Golden Tobacco, a leading cigarette manufacturer in India, reported a phenomenal rise in its standalone net profit for the first quarter ended June 2008. During the quarter, the profit of the company rose 2.26 times to Rs 88.58 million from Rs 39.12 million in the same quarter, last year.

The company posted earnings of Rs 5.04 a share during the quarter, registering 2.27 times growth over previous year period.

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'Smoking Jesus' picture continues to embarrass media in Asia  

Bangalore (ENI). Pictures on the Internet depicting Jesus smoking a cigarette and holding what appears to be a can of beer have caused repeated trouble for media in Asia in recent months.

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Tobacco farmers light up acreage despite govt frown 

Farmers in India have increased acreage under tobacco in tandem with a sharp spike in global tobacco prices, a move that flies in the face of official attempts to discourage cultivation of the leaf.

"Last year tobacco gave higher returns than other crops. I am expecting good returns this year also," said 55-year-old Siddegowda, a farmer from village Mookanahalli, near Hunsur, 200 km from Bangalore. . . .

Area under FCV this year is above 80,000 hectares in Karnataka, up from 75,000 hectares a year ago, said J Suresh Babu, chairman of the Tobacco Board, the government body that issue licences to farmers to cultivate FCV, mainly produced in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.

Acreage is expected to go up in Andhra Pradesh, the other producer state, when farmers start cultivation from the end of September, Kotaiah said.

Overall country wide acreage under FCV has exceeded 200,000 hectares in 2007/08 from 135,453 hectares in 2001/02, Babu said.

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Godfrey Phillips Shares Advance on Block Deal (Update1)  

Godfrey Phillips Ltd., India's second-biggest cigarette maker, gained as much as 7.2 percent in Mumbai today after 1.8 percent of its stock changed hands.

The stock reached as high as 1,535 rupees amid a 55-fold surge in its six-month daily average volume. Shares of the New Delhi-based company rose for a seventh day, gaining 4.85 percent to 1,501 rupees at the close of trading.

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Notice to govt on tobacco ads on buses  

JAIPUR: Taking a serious note of tobacco advertisements in state transport buses and government properties, the Rajasthan Human Rights Commission has issued a notice to the government.

The Commission issued the notice on the basis of complaints filed by Asthma Care Society and Rajasthan Voluntary Health Association.

Notices were issued to principal secretary, home and the managing director of Road Transport Corporation by Commission chairman Justice NK Jain.

Demanding a ban on such advertisements, the complainants pointed out that the display of tobacco advertisements on auto-rickshaws and buses are against the state objectives of public health. They pointed out that the Roadways buses carry the advertisements of Mahak Super gutka, which is a tobacco product.

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SRK says he'll quit smoking 

In what could be music to Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss' ears, Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan has said he is planning to quit smoking in a couple of months as his children hate the habit.

He revealed this while talking to Malayala Manorama on the sets of his latest film "Billu Barber", directed by Priayadarsan, at Pollachi in Tamil Nadu.

"I am giving up smoking under persuasion from my children. They don't like the habit. If they did not have any objection I might have continued smoking. I consider their pressure as a blessing," he said.

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