Say no to tobacco in any form

Now this is absolutely ironical. Today 31st May is observed around the world as 'World No Tobacco Day'. It is intended to promote a 24-hour period of abstinence from all forms of tobacco consumption across the planet. The day is projected to draw awareness to the extensive prevalence of tobacco use and to consequent negative health effects.

And today we have a results of a study done by New England Journal of Medicine in public domain. New England Journal of Medicine conducted a survey with the help of almost 1000 volunteers in all the parts of India.

And their study has shown that 12 crore Indians are smokers now.

It is no secret that day-by-day, there is a steady increase in number of people consuming tobacco in some form or the other.

Even as per the Central Government's estimate, every year as may as  six lakh people die due to 'passive smoking'!      

4,20,000 Indians breath their last every year on account of lung failure.

And shockingly the raise in numbers of female tobacco users in India is too much!      

This is true in both the rural and urban areas of India.

Moreover, approximately six lakh people died last year due to Cancer and out of these 42% deaths were result of tobacco consumption.

And the deaths due to eating tobacco may touch the figure of one crore soon!

In 2011, the quantity of tobacco products produced in India stood at 670 million kilo and products of 475 million kilo were consumed.

Central Government gets 15,527 crores of revenue from the sale of cigarettes, bidi, gutkha and other tobacco products. No doubt it is source of money for the governments.

However the rate at which there is increase in the number of people consuming tobacco, there is need to go for more stringent campaign against the evils of tobacco.

If you think for a moment, we have almost 78,65,00000 Indians below the age of 35. And just imagine the kind of loss, if most of these turn to tobacco. For time-pass, for pleasure, as a habit, or just due to peer pressures.

Government, society, media, and we the people, will have to propagate the anti-tobacco message.

P.S. The Union Health ministry will release a set of operational guidelines for National Tobacco Control Programme today.  

Shoddy situation on food front

There are very few parallels to the crude and obnoxious reality of food wastage. And I am not even talking about the kind of waste of food items generating from our huge marriage get-togethers and parties!

Now some horrible pieces of statistics - according to Global Hunger Index report, India is at 76th position. Our own Central Government and Food Corporation of India tells us that

• in 2008-09, 20,114 tons of food grain decomposed.
• in 2009-11, 13,000 tons was waste.
• in 2012, till March, 2,896 tons was rotten.    

Now what even more shocking is that out of 2,896 tons of food grain waste this year, in Maharashtra the waste was 1,361 tons!

These figures does not include, food grain waste due to different transportation conditions, corrupt practices and arrangements in the warehouses.

To complicate the issues there is famine-like situation and there is shortage of water, everywhere in Maharashtra.

Honorable Bombay High Court reprimanded the Maharashtra Government this week. The Court has asked the Government, why can't the food grain in the FCI ware houses be given to the needy and below-poverty-level people?              

The Court came down heavily and told off that, there is substantial amount of food grains available, it is and will be disintegrated, if not looked after properly. So why cant that be distributed.

What is more outrageous is that the Supreme Court had ordered the Central and State Governments to give out the grains, instead of left decaying, a few months back.

Sometimes I feel, there would be some catastrophe that will affect everyone of us and the Governments will come out of slumber. And then it will act to fulfill the food requirements of millions of Indians.

Food is a basic necessity!