Doctors from the Tata Memorial Hospital took 50 cancer patients from the city to meet opposition leader in the Lok Sabha, Sushma Swaraj, in Delhi last week.
Doctors from the Tata Memorial Hospital took 50 cancer patients from the city to meet opposition leader in the Lok Sabha, Sushma Swaraj, in Delhi last week. It was for enforcing the new rule of pictorial warning on tobacco products, which came into effect on May 31, 2009.
Swaraj called 50 parliamentarians from different political parties to listen to the grievances of the cancer victims at the meeting. After the meeting, all the parliamentarians signed a pledge saying that they will ensure that the pictorial warning will get printed on tobacco products.
After meeting the delegation, Swaraj said on Twitter: “I stand for a complete ban on all tobacco products. If the government is not ready to ban them immediately, we must ensure that pictorial warnings are more prominent and strict compliance is ensured.”
“For the last one year, we have been fighting with the government to enforce the pictorial warning on all tobacco products, but nothing has happened. Now, to raise our voice in the Lok Sabha, we met Sushmaji. We have asked for her help in banning gutkha, increasing taxation on all tobacco products and implementing policies and programmes that reflect the demands of victims of tobacco use,” said Dr Pankaj Chaturvedi associate professor, head and neck department, Tata Memorial Hospital.
Apart from the doctors, NGOs such as Healis-Sekhsaria Institute for Public Health, Salaam Bombay Foundation and Voluntary Health Association of India (VHAI) were present at the meeting on March 17.
He added, “We are happy that in spite of the Parliament session being in progress, Sushmaji met us and listened to the stories of cancer patients. She assured us that she will raise the issue in the Lok Sabha and try to get the government to enforce the rule.”
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