.... the brain is not a vessel to be filled,
It is something to be IGNITED

BURNING BRAIN NEWSLETTER - May 2005

BURNING BRAIN
Newsletter 5, Volume - II
May 2005

One year of inaction and hypocrisy

Dear Members,

Its exactly one year from May 1, 2004; when the “Cigarette and other tobacco products Act (COTPA)” came into force in India. Nothing has changed since, not a single person has been booked under the act in Chandigarh, Himachal, Haryana, Punjab or any other place. Why??

Are we at the mercy of the whims and fancies of the bureaucrats and the politicians? Are they to decide which law shall be enforced and which not? Do they have any constitutional power or authorities to do so? Is this the spirit of our constitution? Is there no sanctity of the law made by the Parliament or has our Parliament been reduced to merely a debating and mud slinging room, where legislations are just a tool for playing to the galleries? This brings us to the question; WHO CONTROLS THIS COUNTRY? The law, policies and the parliament or a handful of corrupt, opportunist and sick officials.

These questions are not directed as a result of anger against them for not enforcing one isolated law. In a broader perspective this kind of attitude has a long term ramification. Such acts of omission and such inaction results in reduction of faith of common people in their system. It results in reduced respect of law and justice. It degrades the whole system.

All the bigger offences are the illegitimate children of some omission or inaction by authorities in relation to a smaller crime/offense. This inaction has a cascading effect and ultimately grows into a much bigger demon. Once this demon grows in size, it becomes difficult to defeat it even by using all of one's strength. Corruption being one of them. So it is not a question of enforcement of the provisions of the Tobacco Act. It is a question of degradation of our values. It is a question of reduced respect for our constitution which manifests itself in lost respect for our laws. An anger against our politicians, police, bureaucrats and other such designate also results from what the people comprehend of the state of affairs.

One thing is sure; we can not allow a handful of people to hold our society and our country at ransom. These people have to go or change their ways. How and when? We believe that it is now just a matter of time and a few responsible people. It is bound to happen else our system will crumble under its own weight (which has already started showing).

For us COTPA is important because we are working on the issue. We have to do full justice not only to the issue but also to the time we are investing. We can't see all our efforts and time going down the drain. Besides; if we can not change the situation in relation to one small legislation then how can we even think of bringing an overall change. COTPA is going to be an example of bigger changes which we envisage.

Your active partnership is going to be very crucial. An honest and active partner is good enough to neutralize lakhs of dishonest nincompoops. Be the one and defeat them.
 

Earnestly yours

Hemant Goswami
Chairperson,
Burning Brain Society

Some Letters and action;

While the law says one thing the officials interpret something else. This is what is happening with the “Cigarette and other tobacco products Act (COTPA).”

The law says "No advertisement in any form," it says "No promotion of brand name or trade marks." The officials interpret it in the narrowest possible manner. The result: surrogate advertisement of tobacco products galore. All the print media and electronic media agencies are happy to generate additional revenue by these advertisements. Movie directors are happy to receive additional funds from the Tobacco companies for showing the cigarette brand in their movies. BBS wrote to the agencies responsible for acting against such violations. The links to the letters are provided here. The content of the letters are free to be reproduced; address of the officials are also mentioned, do write to them and force them to take action.

Letter sent to Dr. Anbumani Ramadoss, the Minister of Health

Letter sent to Mr. S. Jaipal Reddy, Minister of Information & Broadcasting

Letter sent to Controller-General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks

Letter sent to Ms. Sharmila Tagore, Chief of the Censor Board

Some New Articles:

Article on "Why & How to Quit Tobacco" from "Mystic India" June 2005 issue (PDF File  - 480 Kb)

Also read article in March 7, 2005 issue of "TIME" on "Tobacco In Asia" Cover Story (We asked for permission to reproduce the article but were asked for a lot of money so please check on for the issue)

NEW ACTION:

Amendments to COTPA:

COTPA has not been enforced strictly by any state or agency since its inception. Is there something missing in the legislation? YES, we feel so. The act is not strong enough and lacks the spirit of the very preamble preceding the Act. It also dose not cover all the provisions of FCTC. Even the rules made there under are not complete and have a lot of scope. Too many loose strings need to be tightened. BBS has prepared a draft amendment proposal which shall soon be presented to appropriate people and authorities. Do lobby for it.

If you would like to suggest something or would like to share the proposed amendments before we present it, please mail us at info@ burningbrain.org

Workshop for change workers:

Are you working for social change?
Do you want to contribute your bit?
Do you think that you are capable of bringing a positive change? Are you a Doctors, Para-Medic, Druggist, Pharmacist, Social Activist/Worker, Journalist, Writer, Teacher, Lawyer, Political Worker, Socio-Religious worker, Business Manager, Administrative officer, Judicial Officers or a youngster who wants to bring in change? If yes; then you are invited to attend a one day workshop in the fourth week of May 2005 at Chandigarh. The area of focus  for the present workshop shall be "Tobacco."

[Workshop Concluded in May 2005]

CALL FOR SUPPORT:

Support Burning Brain

Friends,

It is becoming increasingly difficult to continue our activities with the meager (read; No) resources we have. The issues we are working on make it very challenging to generate any resources from the corporate world or any other agencies. Our loud voice also becomes an obstacle in generating funds from the Government agencies, which continue to support long obsolete themes in a non-practical manner.

The officials also do not like people who speak their mind and point out the wrong doings. Such people are considered as the spoil sports and usurpers of the system. Even after that (our experience has proved it) one has to either bribe the Government officials or please their ego (to fantastic limits) to even work on a project. As if they are doing a great favour by granting one. Since we are not interested to loose our voice so we will take neither of the two paths and thereby do not hope to generate any resources from this quarter too. Some may say unpractical and foolish. Never mind, we prefer this path. We will continue to think with our own mind and have an unfettered voice.

This leaves us to fend for ourselves. We are trying to open new channels but till that time those of you who can support us will do a great job by supporting us. You can contribute whatever you feel comfortable with. You can send your contributions to;

Burning Brain Society
Glass Office 3, Business Arcade, Shivalikview, Sector 17-E, Chandigarh 160 017 INDIA

or directly to our bank account (with an intimation at the above mentioned address), the details are;

Bank Account:
State Bank of India, Main Branch, Sector 17, Chandigarh 160 017

Bank Account Number:
01100141658

If you are keen to know how the funds are being utilized, we shall be more than happy to share our account details with you.

Regards
H.G.

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Link at http://www.burningbrain.org/joinBBS.htm
 

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