Banarasi paan or tobacco

As many as 170 paan shops selling 'mava'-a combination of tobacoo, supari (betelnut) and lime-and other tobacco products in the diamond  hub of Varachha were sealed by the Surat Municipal Corporation's (SMC) health department in the past two days to curb the use of plastic.

A paan vendor and two of his acquaintances were brutally attacked at Dindoshi on Wednesday over a petty dispute. The Dindoshi police has arrested two of three accused on charges of 'attempt to commit murder.' --

The proposed tax hike on cigarettes from 15 to 20 per cent is far below the WHO recommendation of taxing tobacco products at 65-70 per cent of retail prices. Tamil Nadu is taxing bidis at 14.5 per cent, why can&rsquot Kerala, questions legal luminary Justice K Narayana Kurup. ************************************************************************************ This footnote confirms that this email message has been scanned by PineApp Mail-SeCure for the presence of malicious code, vandals & computer viruses. ************************************************************************************

  Owners of around seven restaurants located in different parts of the city have been fined by the  Surat Municipal Corporation's health department for violating the Tobacco Control Act and not displaying the 'no smoking zone' signboards on Wednesday. 

More than 200 children from 104 municipal schools of Mumbai to debate evaluate and prepare a demand charter to be presented to representatives of state and local government bodies   about tobacco control measures.

Director of Public Instruction A Shajahan exhorted students to keep away from tobacco products as around 45 per cent of cancers are attributed to tobacco use. Smoking and tobacco chewing might seem heroic to students, but they result in endless misery, he said.

It is a well documented fact that the largely tribal population of Gadchiroli district is addicted to tobacco, gutkha and pan masala. A recent study conducted by the Government Dental College and Hospital with the help of Dr Abhay and Rani Bang's NGO Society for Education, Action and Research in Community Health (SEARCH) or Shodhgram found that around 44% of the people in rural parts of the district suffer from conditions that are precursors to oral cancer.

The Kerala High Court has struck down the ban on supply and sale of chewing tobacco and tobacco products by invoking the provisions of the Food Safety and Standards (FSS) Act, 2006. The order was issued on December 20 on a writ petition filed by the dealers of tobacco products.

The Kadinamkulam Police on Friday seized banned tobacco products from a shop at Puthukurichi. The police said the shop was run by one Seentha Beevi, 58, adjacent to her house. Banned tobacco brands Shambhu, Chaini Khaini and Ganesh were stored in a sack in the shop, the police said. No arrest was recorded and Seenath is absconding, the police said.

District health administration has conducted raids in several shops of the district and till now tobacco products worth Rs 35 lakh has been confiscated from different shops and wholesalers. A fine of Rs 31,250 has also been collected from different shop owners.

DMO warns against advertisements on tobacco products. No shops will be allowed to either display or paste the advertisements of tobacco products. If the shops near the educational institutions are found violating these rules, they will be punishable for a period up to two years and also will also have to pay a fine.

As part of the Safe Thiruvananthapuram campaign, the district health administration has launched an extensive campaign to make the school and college campuses of the district tobacco free.