-IANS KOLKATA: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday came in for sharp criticism from within her party and the opposition after she suggested people to "smoke more" to provide compensation to victims of a chit fund scam. "Smoking is bad.. let there be tax on it. But am I responsible for what Sudipta Sen did? Why should I pay more tax on every cigarette I smoke? I haven't fleeced the...
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Anti-tobacco group slam Mamata for 'smoke joke'
-IANS An anti-tobacco group on Thursday expressed shock over West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee's joke asking people to smoke more, so more revenue could be garnered to compensate investors of the collapsed Saradha financial scam. "This is a great discouragement for those working in the area of public health," said Bhavna Mukhopadhyay, executive director, Voluntary Health Association of India. Mukhopadhyay said the West Bengal chief minister announced a 10% tax hike...
More »Still Smoking
-Outlook Gutka lobby protests stick’s escape Law On Their Side The tobacco industry has enough clout and money to secure the support of top politicians-cum-lawyers in courts: Arun Jaitley: ITC, market leader in cigarettes Ram Jethmalani and Abhishek Manu Singhvi: Dharampal Satyapal Ltd Kapil Sibal: Dhariwal industries *** Just about two months back, newspaper readers were taken aback by a series of front-page ads, one of which stated how 14 states had had banned...
More »Smoking killed 100 million in 100 years
-The Indian Express Nearly 45 trillion bidis and cigarettes manufactured over the past 100 years in the country are expected to be responsible for nearly 100 million deaths of adult Indians, a recent study has found. "Our calculations are derived from using the most conservative estimates and yet present mortality estimates which are significant and alarming," researchers Pranay G Lal, Nevin C Wilson and Prakash C Gupta said in a study published...
More »Smokers, how to gain 10 years
-The Telegraph People who stop smoking before the age of 40 may on average gain an extra 10 years of life expectancy, according to a study that researchers say has relevance to India where people typically quit only after falling ill. A British study described as the world’s largest to assess the hazards of smoking and the benefits of quitting has shown that quitting before 40 can help avoid excess mortality observed...
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