20 May 2011
By Sanjay Kumar
Patna, India
Health minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey on Friday directed drug inspectors and health instructors to give up the use of tobacco before penalizing others.
Inaugurating an awareness programme on Tobacco Control Rules here, Choubey also released two books related to National Tobacco Control Programme guidelines published by State Health Society, Bihar. He said that a ban on sale of tobacco products around schools would also be enforced.
Speaking on the occasion, health secretary Sanjay Kumar described tobacco as a silent killer. The percentage of males using tobacco was 66.2 while that of women stood at 40.1 %. The percentage of khaini users in Bihar is 51, the highest in the country, he said.
Kumar said that state tobacco control monitoring cell had been set up in Patna and Munger. Directives have been issued for strict implementation of anti-tobacco laws, he said.
Principal Secretary, Health, Amarjeet Sinha also spoke on the occasion.
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