As a Chief Minister of Gujarat, he had put a blanket ban on gutka, now as a Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi on Saturday joined the anti-tobacco campaign full throttle asking the countrymen to say ‘no’ to tobacco and tobacco-related products and lay the foundation of a healthier India.
“On World No Tobacco Day (on Saturday), lets pledge to spread awareness on the risks of tobacco consumption & work to reduce tobacco consumption in India,” he tweeted on the No Tobacco Day.“Tobacco not only affects those consuming it but also people around. By saying no to tobacco, let us lay the foundation of a healthier India,” he added.
This is not the first time Modi has been vocal about tobacco menace. As the Chief Minister of Gujarat just a couple of months ago he had written a letter supporting the Voice of Victims Campaign led by Dr Pankaj M Shah, a renowned cancer specialist of Ahmedabad.
In another letter to Dr Pankaj Chaturvedi, cancer surgeon of Mumbai-based Tata Memorial Hospital and Global Cancer Ambassador, he said that chewing, smoking and sniffing tobacco in any form of habit has proved hazardous and causing for the menace like cancer. Activities to restrict the hazards of tobacco are carried out at all levels… Still the attempts need to be intensified and strategy needs to be decided.
Dr Chaturvedi welcomed the Prime Minister’s tweet against tobacco consumption saying that it sends a strong message among people. “This also shows commitment of this Government to eradicate menace of tobacco which is taking toll on the health and lives of millions of people in the country,” he added.
A recent Health Ministry report on the harmful effects of gutka says that the number of oral cancer cases in India alone stands at 86 per cent of the oral cancer figures across the world. India has the highest number of oral cancer patients in the world with 75, 000 to 80, 000 new cases of oral cancers a year. Shockingly, chewing tobacco and gutka contribute to 90 per cent of oral cancer cases in the country.