Anbumani slams apathy over enforcing smoking ban in public places
Recalling that he brought the law preventing smoking in public places in 2008 while serving as Union Minister for Health, Anbumani opined that the state governments are responsible for implementing the law
PMK president Anbumani Ramadoss
CHENNAI: Saying that the cases of lung cancer are increasing in the State, PMK president Anbumani Ramadoss urged the state government to enforce the rules against smoking in public places strictly.
In a statement, Anbumani, who brought the rules while serving as Union Minister for Health, said that as per the report released by Adyar Cancer Institute, 3,500 to 4,000 lung cancer cases are being identified in the state annually.
"Shockingly, the report says that persons who never smoked also have lung cancer. Though the reason for increasing lung cancer cases can be pollution, oncologist Dr Surendran of the Cancer Institute warns that poor implementation of the ban on smoking in public places also can be the reason," he added.
Recalling that he brought the law preventing smoking in public places in 2008, Anbumani opined that the state governments are responsible for implementing the law. "But, none of the states, including Tamil Nadu, implements the law. More than 15 years after the law's enactment, action has been taken against only 3.89 lakh persons by collecting a total of Rs. 6.83 crore as a penalty. This shows that the rules are not implemented full-fledged," he alleged.
He added that in India, around 13.20 lakh persons die due to smoking, and 2.20 lakh persons die due to passive smoking. "Women and children are affected by lung cancer owing to the failure in implementing the ban. The public should not be affected by the apathy of the government. The state government should implement the ban strictly," he urged.
In a separate statement, party founder S Ramadoss condemned the Haryana police for preventing farmers from marching towards New Delhi. "Demanding minimum support price (MSP) for farm products, farmers have planned to rally towards Delhi. But, the police stopped them at the Haryana-Punjab border," he said.
He added that a committee formed by the Supreme Court reported that farmers' debt has increased. Ramadoss demanded that the state and central governments talk with the farmers to fix MSP and waive agricultural loans.