Chandy seeks countrywide ban on tobacco products

Thiruvananthapuram, Jun 24: Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on Thursday, Jun 23 sought Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's intervention in imposing a countrywide ban on tobacco products saying they posed a grim health threat to the people, especially the youth.

In a letter to Singh, he said free availability of tobacco products in every nook and cranny of the country has become a serious threat to health of the people, especially youth and students.

The viable option to fight the menace was to impose a total ban on them through legal means, he said.

Such a step was essential to control incidence of cancer, heart ailments and other related health hazards, he said.

Chandy recalled that the World Health Organisation had called for ban on advertisement on tobacco products.

PTI