Bihar: Shatrughan Sinha hails total prohibition decision, calls for curbing use of tobacco

BJP leader Shatrughan Sinha on Sunday praised the Nitish Kumar government's decision of total prohibition in Bihar and urged the Chief Minister to give a serious thought on curbing tobacco consumption.

"Total prohibition is a progressive decision by the Nitish Kumar government to which everybody should extend a wholehearted support," Sinha told PTI.

The BJP Lok Sabha member from Patna Sahib made a strong case for similar concerted action against tobacco and its products like khaini, ghutka, zarda and beedi.

"We must kill tobacco before it kills us," said Sinha, who had launched a strong campaign against smoking and tobacco consumption as a Union Health Minister.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has marked tobacco as a leading killer. In India, tobacco-related diseases like cancer and lung problems have been identified posing a grave threat.

Prohibition of tobacco along with the total ban on liquor would have a "cascading" effect on human health, he said.

Last Tuesday, the Nitish Kumar government had announced a complete ban on liquor, domestic and spicy, as well as Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) in Bihar.