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

BURNING BRAIN NEWSLETTER - July 2005

BURNING BRAIN
Newsletter 7, Volume - II
July 2005

Aligning against the subversion tactics

Dear Friends,

A lot happened in the past one month. While we were celebrating the amendment to the tobacco rules limiting the flight of tobacco companies, these companies started a vilification campaign against the move. Well, nothing unusual, this is certainly expected of the tobacco companies. But what was surprising was that so many media people surrendered their conscious to these cash rich companies and carried cooked and lopsided stories and articles.

To remind everyone, the preamble of FCTC itself warns against the subversion tactics and reads that; "All  the parties to this convention determined to give priority to their right to protect public health - recognizing the need to be alert to any efforts by the tobacco industry to undermine or subvert tobacco control efforts and the need to be informed of activities of the tobacco industry that have a negative impact on tobacco control efforts ..."

This is one such time about which FCTC forewarns us and asks us to be alert about. This is a time to align to fight the diversion tactics of the tobacco industry. The people who have economic interests in the 35,000 crores tobacco industry are doing everything to generate a negative opinion about the move by the Health Ministry. Despite this, the people whose life is going to improve have failed to see the enormous benefits and gains of the move, they appear to be unconcerned. The general public is not unified and do not have even a united voice. Even the Government is no match for them; the total national and international budget to promote the concept of a tobacco free world in India is not even 0.001 % of the size of the tobacco industry.

India is no doubt a country full of people who are willing to sell their conscience for a song. Under such a situation if the tobacco company spends just 0.01% of their turnover for the propaganda and buying people to do the ghost talking, we will find everyone speaking against any move to limit tobacco's growth (as is happening). Just try to figure out why media is speaking the way it is, spinning stories in only one direction. Why are people who have a positive voice blacked out? Who is buying favours with the I & B Ministry and why? Why there are  planted stories against the person who dared to take the stand? Who will benefit if the Health Minster exits? Some questions having the answer to the bigger question.

Isn't it the time for all people who want a healthy and a better world to unite? It definitely is. We can't allow a few hundred people to hijack the future of 100 million people. We can't allow them to murder more people.

So speak up and speak loud enough to get your positive voice heard. Let everyone know that you support a tobacco free world.

Yours
Hemant Goswami
Chairperson,
Burning Brain Society

What the new amendment says;

As projected by some, the new amendments are not about only banning smoking scenes in the movies. There are a lot of other new provisions too which are going to limit the tobacco's growth in future. The tobacco companies are aware of this so they are diverting everyone's attention to only the movie ban. The intend is that the whole notification be nullified. We will not allow any dilution. Read the amendment order and be fully informed;

MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE

 NOTIFICATION

New Delhi, the 31^st may 2005

 G.S.R. 345(E) :- In exercise of the powers conferred by section 31 of the “Cigarette and other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act. 2003,” the Central Government hereby makes the following rules to amend the Cigarette and other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act. 2003:- 

1)      (1) These rules may be called the Cigarette and other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Rules, 2005.

(2) They shall come into force on the 1^st day of August 2005. 

2)      In the Cigarette and other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Rules, 2004-

 a)      In rule 2, the following clause shall be inserted, namely:-

 “(e) “Indirect advertisement” mentioned in section 5(1) of the Act means:

(i)      the use of a name or brand of tobacco products for marketing, promotion or advertising other goods, services and events; 

(ii)    the marketing of tobacco products with the aid of a brand name or trademark which is known as, or in use as, a name or brand for other goods and service;

 (iii)    the use of particular colours and layout and/or presentation those are associated with particular tobacco products; and

 (iv)   the use of tobacco products and smoking situations when advertising other goods and services.”

 b)      for rule 4, the following shall be substituted, namely:-

             “4. Prohibited of advertisement of cigarettes and other tobacco products:-

(1)   The size of the board used for the advertisement of cigarettes and any other tobacco products displayed at the entrance of a warehouse or a shop where cigarette or any other tobacco products is offered for sale shall not exceed sixty centimeters by fourth-five centimeters. 

(2)   Each such board shall contain in an Indian language as applicable, one of the following warnings occupying the top edge of the board in a prominent manner measuring twenty centimeters by fifteen centimeters, namely:-

(i)      Tobacco Causes cancer, or

(ii)    Tobacco Kills 

(3)   The health warning referred to in sub-rule 2 must be prominent, legible and in black colour with a white background. 

(4)   The display board shall only list the type of tobacco products available and no brand shot, brand name of the tobacco product or other promotional message and picture shall be displayed on the board. The display board shall not be backlit or illuminated in any manner. 

(5)   The owner or manager or in-charge of the affairs of a place where cigarettes and other tobacco products are sold shall not display tobacco products in such a way that they are visible so as to prevent easy access of tobacco products to persons below the age of eighteen years. 

(6)   No individual or a person or a character in cinema and television programmes shall display tobacco products or their use. Where, however, cinema and television programmes which have been produced prior to this notification have scenes with smoking situations and use of other forms of tobacco, it shall be mandatory to place a health warning as a prominent scroll at the bottom of the television or cinema screen with font in black colour on white background which is legible and readable. The text of the warning shall be “Smoking Causes Cancer” or “Smoking Kills” for smoking form of tobacco use and “Tobacco causes cancer” or “Tobacco Kills” for chewing and other form of tobacco. The health warning shall be in the same language/s as used in the cinema or the television programme. 

(7)   Wherever brand names or logos of tobacco products form a part of the pictures to be printed in any form of print or outdoor media or footage to be aired through any form of electronic media, it shall be mandatory for the media to crop or mask the same to ensure that the brand name and logos of the tobacco products are not visible.” 

c)      in rule 5, the following clauses shall be added, namely:- 

      “(3) The owner or the manager or the in-charge of the affairs of a place where cigarettes or other tobacco products are sold shall ensure that no tobacco product is sold through a vending machine in order to prevent easy access of tobacco products to persons below the age of eighteen years. 

      (4) The owner or the manager or the in-charge of the affairs of a place where cigarettes or other tobacco products are sold shall ensure that no tobacco product is handled or sold by a person below the age of eighteen years.”

 [F. No. P-16012/1/2005-PH]
BHAVANI TYAGRAJAN, Jt. Secy.

 Note:- The principal rules were published vide number GSR 137 dated 25th  February, 2004.         

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CONTINUED ACTION:

Support the demand for licensing all tobacco vendors:

You are requested to aggressively advocate the idea of licensing the tobacco vends in your own state. This move is going to make a big difference in the fight against tobacco. The skeleton form of the letter is appended below. You can use the same text , modify it or draft your own. Send the letters to the Union Ministry for Health, the P.M., Your C.M. and other people in the Government.

LICENSING OF TOBACCO VENDORS FOR ADDITIONAL REVENUE AND EFFECTIVE CONTROL

Dear sir,

We would like to draw your attention to the law enacted by the Parliament, referred to as “Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 2003.” We also draw your attention to the “Framework Convention on Tobacco Control” which India has signed and ratified.

Under the said act, all the states of the union are bound to prohibit any form of tobacco advertisement, prohibit the sale of tobacco in and around educational institutions and to minors, and control smoking of tobacco products at public places.

The law came into force from May 1, 2004 but quite unfortunately since more than a year nothing much has happened to address the issues and the act remains a few written words in book-form over the shelf.

The size of the problem demoralizes a lot of people to even put their hand on the problem while others have a diluted commitment because they themselves are using tobacco products; though personal preferences should never ride over one’s duty. Some people are busy in making petty gains out of the death of millions. When there is a strong law to tackle an identified and established killer like tobacco, we feel nothing should stop us from taking the killer head on.

We propose an important strategy in the control of tobacco menace and for effective implementation of the “Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 2003.”

Since presently anyone can start selling tobacco almost anywhere without any issues, resulting in tobacco products being sold by and to minors; POP advertisement boards exceeding the prescribed size and number; tobacco being sold in loose form and in an unregulated mode at such shops where it should not. This result in another big problem of controlling the growth and forcing the vendors to observe the regulations and thereby further the spirit of the law made in this regard.

We propose that tobacco be sold only through licensed vendors as is done in the case of liquor.

Anyone who wishes to trade in tobacco should apply for license to appropriate and prescribed authorities. A small license fee varying between Rs. 2000 to 20000 per month can be fixed for giving the license. Ordinarily license should be given to everyone who follows the norms, is having a legal establishment and declares to follow the guidelines and the prescribed norms besides the law.

Assuming that presently tobacco is sold only through one lakh establishments and just 50% of them apply for licence. If on an average we charge only Rs. 2000 per month per vendor still we shall be able to create additional revenue of 120 crores every year. This money can then again be used for IEC purpose without putting additional burden on the state.

Other than this, it will enable us to control the tobacco menace and regulate it more effectively and will certainly result in better enforcement of laws made in this regard.

Please consider this proposal in the interest of the public at large. We estimate that such a move will result in saving about 3.2 million youngsters from falling into tobacco trap in India over the next 20 years.

Thanking you
Yours cordially
 

Hemant Goswami
For Burning Brain Society
 

CALL FOR SUPPORT:

Support Burning Brain

Friends,

From now on all the contributions made to Burning Brain Society shall be eligible for deduction under Section 80G of the Income Tax. So while you contribute for a cause you also stand to gain by getting benefit while filing your I.T. return.

You can contribute any amount you feel comfortable with. Please do not fail to mention your postal address on which you want us to send the 80G certificate. 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

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Regards
H.G.

A Letter against vicious campaigns:

The newspaper do the front page stories to add voice to what they have to say or make others believe, but give a small one column insignificant space to people who have other opinions or want to correct them on facts. We do not accept that and will write back through the Internet and reach millions against the biased campaigns of the media's demigods.

We writes an open letter to Shekhar Gupta, the Editor-in-Chief of Indian Express, on the tobacco issue. The letter is a result of a campaign by the media to belittle the move of banning tobacco in the mass media. As a part of the campaign the Indian Express carried a column by the name on “Nicotine Nostalgia,” covered film stars who opposed the ban and then carried a full page interview of the chain smoker actor Ajay Devgan lamenting the ban. Shekhar specifically made him quote by suggesting, “So banning it is a silly idea?” We ask Shekhar, why is he doing it? (Shekhar Gupta has preferred to keep quite on it, you guess why? Don't say he has nothing to say.)

Read the letter and share with everyone concerned, that's the first step.

If not a member JOIN NOW
Link at http://www.burningbrain.org/joinBBS.htm
 

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