Five women, whose husbands laid their lives down owing to tobacco addiction, have thought of a unique way to welcome the World No Tobacco Day. They have written a letter to the Prime Minister asking him to take rigorous action against the tobacco manufacturing companies. The letter, jointly signed by the women, highlights the government's incompetence with respect to shutting down gutkha manufacturing companies in Gujarat.
Five women, whose husbands laid their lives down owing to tobacco addiction, have thought of a unique way to welcome the World No Tobacco Day. They have written a letter to the Prime Minister asking him to take rigorous action against the tobacco manufacturing companies. The letter, jointly signed by the women, highlights the government's incompetence with respect to shutting down gutkha manufacturing companies in Gujarat.
"Currently, Gujarat is the only Indian state still manufacturing gutkha, while it is being smuggled into other states that have imposed a ban on the same. Isn't this a violation of the ban?" questions Niku Sidhu, one of the signatories who lost her husband on May 7 this year. "Rahul (husband) was only 48. Though he was a health freak who exercised regularly apart from undertaking diet control, he was also hooked to chewing tobacco. Tobacco shattered our otherwise happy family," said continued.
The widows are rallying for a complete ban on tobacco products. "It is time a complete ban is brought into effect from today. Several lives, careers and the happiness of numerous homes are at stake," said Sidhu.
Among the five signatories is Maharashtra's former home and labour minister Satish Pednekar's wife, Sumitra, who said, "My husband's addiction to mawa- a mix of chewing tobacco and pan masala- gave birth to his illness. In the last few months before his death, he could not swallow even watery dal-khichdi. My daughters and I are still struggling to come to terms with the scars left behind by his extended illness and tragic demise." Satish Pednekar succumbed to oral cancer in 2011.
Cancer is infamous for the deaths it causes, second to only heart attacks, both of which are attributable to tobacco. According to the latest Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS), India has the second largest number of tobacco users, second to China, with 197 million men and 78 million women. The latest GATS Atlas shows that there are 232 female tobacco users in India and Bangladesh. In India, the prevalence among women is 33% and 18% among men.
"We request the Prime Minister to put a stop to the ravage caused by tobacco addiction. How many more widows and orphans does the nation need to have before the government slashes down the tobacco industry," questioned Alka Pandey, whose husband Rajeev died of cancer in 1998.
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