Dr
Harsh Vardhan initiates coordinated effort for alternatives to tobacco crops
The Honourable Union
Health Minister is trying to put in place a method to cultivate alternate
tobacco crops. In this regard he has asked for a joint meeting to discuss the
same on 29th October 2014. Dr Harsh Vardhan has initiated this coordinated,
multi-ministerial move so that interest of farmers are protected. This meeting
is in lieu of the government’s plan to lower the production of tobacco and
protect the financial interests of the farmers that grow the crop.
The letter by Dr. Harsh
Vardhan states that the Government of India has ratified WHO Framework
Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) and is committed to implement effective
strategies for tobacco control in the country. The Charter of Tobacco Board
which is directly under Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce control comes in
conflict with some of the provisions of FCTC. As per Article 17 of FCTC – there
have to be provisions of support for economically viable alternative activities.
Voice of Tobacco Victims (VoTV) congratulates the Hon’ble Union Health Minister
for addressing the livelihood issue of tobacco farmers. (Read: ‘The tobacco
industry uses strategic tactics to dilute the tobacco control policy’)
Dr. Pankaj Chaturvedi, a
senior cancer surgeon from , Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai , added, ‘The
patients we treat are a constant reminder that tobacco is deadly in both
cigarette and smokeless forms. It is high time alternatives must be thought
before more lives are lost and Dr. Harsh Vardhan has initiated a great step by
planning on alternatives to tobacco crops.’ The Global Adult Tobacco Survey
(GATS-India) identifies that 27.5 crore people use any form of tobacco in
India. Every day in India, 5500 children start to use tobacco in some or the
other form. (Read: Fight against tobacco is a personal fight for me, says Dr
Harsh Vardhan)
The harms of tobacco are
countless. In India, around one million new cancer cases are diagnosed and
around 600,000 to 700,000 people die from cancer. In a recent report of April
2014, around two-fifths (40%) of all cancers in India are attributable to
tobacco use and the economic costs of illness and premature death due to
tobacco consumption exceed combined government and state expenditure and state
expenditure on medical and public health, water supply and sanitation.
(Challenges to effective cancer control in China, India and Russia, April 2014
– The Lancet Oncology). Now, India is also known as the oral cancer capital of
the world. (Read: The anti-tobacco drive gets a new face)
The stated mission of
Tobacco Board is ‘To strive for the overall development of tobacco growers and
the Indian Tobacco Industry’. There is thus a conflict between mission and
activities of Tobacco Board, which is under the Commerce Ministry, and the goals
of public health. The mission of Tobacco Board needs to be changed to reducing
tobacco production and re-deploying tobacco farmers. (Read: Giving up the
tobacco habit – a cancer survivor’s tale)
Tobacco grown for
cigarettes [Flu Cured Virginia (FVC) and some burley and oriental] and exported
tobacco products is controlled and subsidized by the Tobacco Board. FCV is
grown in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. According to an article in industry
trade press, Tobacco Journal International, there are close to 100,000
registered tobacco (FCV) farmers. FCV accounts for the majority of exported
unmanufactured tobacco (75-80%). 50% of all FCV grown is exported. Growers and
buyers have to register with the Tobacco Board which regulates production
quantities (sets quotas), type and sale (auction system). (Read: World No
Tobacco Day 2014: How to identify and beat your smoking triggers)
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