-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...

-Live Mint Research conducted in 10 European cities; results comparable to the burden associated with passive smoking Exposure to vehicular pollution near busy roads is responsible for 14% of chronic childhood asthma cases, according to a new research conducted in 10 European cities. The results are comparable to the burden associated with passive smoking which, the World Health Organization estimates, causes between 4% and 18% of asthma cases in children. The study was...

-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...

-The Times of India High blood pressure (BP) has become the world's deadliest disease-causing risk factor. But for Indians, indoor air pollution (IAP) — emanating from chulhas burning wood, coal and animal dung as fuel — has been found to be a bigger health hazard for Indians. The first-ever estimates of the contribution of different risk factors to the global burden of disease between 1990 and 2010 has found that household air pollution...

-The Times of India First the good news: Indians are living much longer than they did 40 years ago. The life expectancy (LE) at birth of an average Indian male has gone up by 15 years between 1970 and 2010, while that of an Indian woman by 18 years. An average Indian man can expect to live for as long as 63 years, while an Indian woman can live 4.5 years longer than...