Tobacco.org

• Bill on controlling tobacco sent to social affairs committee 

The People’s Majlis has yesterday voted to proceed with the Bill on controlling tobacco and has been sent to Social Affairs Committee of the Majlis.

Interestingly the debate on this Bill was not divided on party lines; rather there was much appreciation from MDP members to the former government’s strong campaign against smoking and tobacco control.

This was the second reading of the Bill and almost all members who spoke at the debate stage supported the legislation but some members expressed concern that this Bill was too harsh

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• Bill on tobacco control submitted to committee 

A tobacco control bill seeking to ban smoking in public places and apply other restrictions was accepted by the People’s Majlis and submitted to committee for further review on Monday.

The bill, proposed by the Government, was discussed by the Majlis members and passed with the approval of the 55 MPs who participated in the vote. There were 61 MPs in attendance when the vote took place and it was decided to send the bill to the social affairs committee.

Nearly all the MPs who spoke at the Majlis sitting agreed that the use of tobacco needed to be controlled and urged for the Bill to be passed swiftly and enforced.

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• Majlis proceeds with tobacco control bill  

A tobacco control bill proposed by the government to ban smoking in public places and set restrictions on its use was sent to committee for further review today.

All 55 MPs who participated voted in favour of sending the bill to the social affairs committee.

Presenting the bill at a previous sitting, Health Minister Aminath Jameel said the dangers and health risks of tobacco were well established and the habit led to extreme suffering.

"When I looked at the statistics of our country, I see cancer, one of the most painful of diseases. In 2004, 40 people passed away. In 2008, the number of people who died from different types of cancer increased to 79," she said.

The number of people who died of heart diseases increased from 192 people in 2004 to 403 in 2008, she added.

The bill states its purpose is to keep children away from tobacco use, provide information to smokers to make responsible decisions and stop advertisement and promotion of cigarettes.

The second clause of the bill states that everyone has the right to protection from passive smoking.

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Cigarette Duty To Double Under Government Proposal 

The Finance Minister, Gasim Ibrahim has proposed double duty on cigarettes, tobacco and tobacco products citing health reasons.

Speaking in Parliament on the government’s proposed amendments to the Import Export Bill, Gasim said that even though the proposed amount on cigarettes, tobacco and tobacco products was high, the ill effects of smoking were higher.

If the amendments pass, the duty per cigarette will increase from 30 laari to 60 laari. This means that the price of a cigarette pack will increase from the current Rf. 20 to about Rf. 26 in the market.

We asked people in Malé’s streets what they think.

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Printing Health Risk Message on Cigarette Packs Delayed 

Ministry of Health has decided to extend deadline of printing health risk labels on tobacco packs in Dhivehi Language until October.

The prior date for printing the labels was July 1. Some parties have already printed such labels on cigarette packs.

The Health Ministry said on Wednesday that this decision was taken upon request from some importers of tobacco who said that they had faced some difficulties in getting labels printed on time.

?Therefore, we are giving them more time,? Deputy Director of Health Services Dr. Sheena Moosa said.

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Ministry of Health today began the work of drafting a law of smoking 

Ministry of Health today began the work of drafting a law to rid the Maldivian society from the negative effects of smoking. The law is drafted in collaboration with the Attorney General's Office and the Maldives Law Commission. A special meeting was held at the youth centre today, to collect information to draft the bill. . . .

The law is being formulated in accordance with the recent WHO Framework convention on tobacco control, which requires countries that have ratified the convention to formulate laws to discourage or control tobacco.

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A public awareness message on the harmful effects of tobacco is to be printed in Dhivehi on all tobacco products packed in the Maldives. 

A public awareness message on the harmful effects of tobacco is to be printed in Dhivehi on all tobacco products packed in Maldives. The Ministry of Health says that the rule will come into effect from the 1st of July 2005.

This is part of an effort to make aware the public on the harmful effects of tobacco and in reducing such products, in concordance with the ratification of the WHO “Framework Convention on Tobacco Control” by Maldives on 30th May this year.

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WHO awards anti-tobacco award to three islands and ADK Hospital 

World Health Organization has awarded three islands and ADK Hospital for their campaign against smoking as part of activities to mark No Tobacco Day.

Raa atoll Fainu island won the award for achieving the status of a no-smoking island while Thakandhoo and Kelaa in Haa Alifu atoll and Vaadhoo island in Gaafu Dhaalu atoll won recognition for all women folk stopping smoking.

The awards were handed over to the island communities and the private ADK Hospital by Atolls Development Minister Abdulla Hameed at the official ceremony held in this island on Monday to mark the international No Tobacco Day.

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Cabinet recommends ratification of WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control 

The Cabinet on Thursday recommended to President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom the signature and ratification of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

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EDITORIAL: Tobacco related harm in South Asia 

To deal with tobacco we must defy a tenet that an influential section of modern society holds dear--that unfettered commerce will deliver us all from want and suffering. South Asia suffers harm from tobacco on a scale that demands a vigorous response. And it provides examples of how to deal creatively with the problem...

Some South Asian countries have responded innovatively to control the harm caused by tobacco. The small kingdom of Bhutan is a pioneer. It has a tobacco control law dating from 1729, and is now moving unobtrusively to eradicate smoking and the trade in tobacco altogether. In the Maldives there are islands that have declared themselves completely tobacco free.2 The state of Arunachal Pradesh in India has banned the sale, distribution, and manufacture of tobacco products.10 There are no reports yet of a serious backlash to banning tobacco. Removing tobacco can be a community led enterprise, not a jackboot affair.

An altogether different approach, employed in Bangladesh and India, is the use of public interest litigation. Judicial activism for the common weal is perhaps stronger in India than in any other country. The Indian courts have moved with resolve to protect the public from tobacco. The Supreme Court of India in November 2001, in a landmark ruling, directed all states and centrally ruled territories to issue orders forthwith to ban smoking in public places and in public transport.2 A state court has taken similar action.

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11 S-E Asian nations to fight tobacco jointly 

The 11 countries of the South-East Asian region with a 1.5 billion population have agreed to come together in fighting tobacco which is viewed as a major health threat, bigger than even some communicable diseases.

The countries " six of the Saarc and five of the Asean groups " reached a consensus at the end of the two-day meeting of their health ministers here on Tuesday to launch a concerted attack on tobacco.

Three of them " Bangladesh, Thailand and Korea " have already signed the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). Others have agreed with the proposal and decided to frame laws to control tobacco.

India approved of it even before FCTC passed legislations to curb tobacco consumption, health minister Sushma Swaraj said, while briefing reporters on the deliberations of the meeting.

The 11 countries, which have a 40 per cent share of the worlds major diseases, have decided to ban ads glorifying cigarette smoking.

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20 people from Rathafandhoo island quit smoking 

Some 20 people from Rathafandhoo island in Gaafu Dhaalu atoll quit smoking on Saturday, World No Tobacco Day.

The ‘Health Task Force’ from Rathafandhoo said that of the island’s 250 people, 99 were smokers but that with the 20 people who quit smoking, the number of smokers in the island had now dropped to 79.

On Saturday morning, all health workers and officials of the island signed a declaration stating that they quit smoking.

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WHO convention a major victory against consumption of tobacco: Gayoom 

President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom has said that the International Convention adopted by the World Health Organization represented a major victory for international co-operation and for public health against the challenges posed by the consumption of tobacco.

In a message that was published in a newspaper supplement issued Saturday by the Ministry of Health on the occasion of the World No Tobacco Day, the President said that the treaty would help the efforts being made to lower the number of fatalities annually caused by the consumption of tobacco which presently numbered five million people.

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Medical students call on Maldives film industry to refrain from tobacco promotion 

OPEN LETTER TO THE MALDIVIAN FILM INDUSTRY BY MALDIVIAN MEDICAL STUDENTS' ASSOCIATION IN NEPAL: . . .

Though the part of the Maldivian film and fashion industry has been small if at all in this death ride, it pays for us to be aware of the various impacts such promotions could have. With tobacco free or anti tobacco films we would be contributing in some way towards extinguishing the toxic fumes of tobacco which will spare the future as well as the present generation from the vile of this deadly habit.

Therefore we, the members of Maldivian Medical Students' Association would like to request the Maldivian film and fashion industry to kindly observe the theme for World No Tobacco Day 2003 " Tobacco free films, tobacco free fashion", not for just today but for the days to come as well .And with your cooperation we look forward towards a change and a difference.

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Maldives' spending on tobacco-related items increases by 17 percent 

Maldives Customs Services has said that spending for import of tobacco-related materials have increased by 17 percent more than last year.

It said Rf56.2 million were spent on importing tobacco-related materials last year. This is an amount which is Rf9.6 million more than the year 2001 ($=12.85).

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