Assam considers total tobacco ban

After it finalizes its ban on gutkha, the Indian state of Assam might turn its attention to banning all forms of tobacco products, including cigarettes and bidis, according to a story in The Assam Tribune.

The Health Minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma, told parliament this week that the health department was keen to launch an all-out war on tobacco.

Sarma said that the draft bill on gutkha had been sent to the cabinet, but he would not be drawn on when it might be tabled in parliament because “everybody was taking an interest in it and scrutinizing it minutely.”

The next logical step after the ban on gutkha would be to prohibit all types of smokeless tobacco, he said.

This would then be followed by a ban on smoking tobacco products, such as cigarettes and bidis.

Sarma hinted, also, at a ban on alcohol.

In the meantime, he called upon parliamentarians to kick the tobacco habit, so as to set a good example to others.