Centre to mandate statutory warning on beedi packets

Chennai, Aug 26 (UNI) The Centre will bring in a Constitution amendment bill in the ongoing Parliament session making the printing of the statutory warning on beedi packets mandatory, Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss said today.

Speaking to newspersons after inaugurating Dr A Ramachandran's Diabetes Hospital and India Diabetes Research Foundation here, he said printing statutory warning on beedi packets would be made mandatory within six months from the passage of the bill.

Dr Ramadoss said he had written to the Chief Ministers of all States and Vice-chancellors of various universities to stop the sale of junk foods and colas in campuses which are detrimental to youngsters.

He also appealed to the celebrities to desist from endorsing such products.

The Health Ministry would also give ''unilateral recognition'' to post-graduate medical programmes of the US, the UK, New Zealand and Singapore.

(ed : pick up suitably from earlier series).

UNI