The Health Ministry is set to roll out a comprehensive plan to tackle tobacco use, which will incorporate preventive measures, Health Minister J.P. Nadda said here on Sunday. May 31 was observed as World No Tobacco Day.
“The government is committed to reducing the consumption of tobacco. Very soon the Ministry will launch a comprehensive programme using a three-pronged strategy of information, education and communication. This holistic approach will target new tobacco consumers as well as tobacco addicts,” Mr. Nadda told journalists on the sidelines of a function celebrating 25 years of laparoscopic cholecystectomy in India.
However, the Minister avoided comment on the controversial statements of BJP MPs who said there was no link between tobacco and cancer.
Recently, BJP MP Dilip Gandhi, Shyama Charan Gupta and Ram Prasad Sharma stirred up controversies over their remarks delinking tobacco and cancer.
Laparoscopic surgery
Mr. Nadda underscored the need to make laparoscopic surgery available to the common people and widen its reach.
“We need to popularise the method, and see that a maximum number of doctors are trained in laparoscopy. We will survey medical institutions to find out how many are using laparoscopic procedures and encourage teaching institutions to impart training,” he said.
Mr. Nadda said the patient-to-bed ratio in India was a problem and laparoscopy was a meaningful intervention as it helped reduce stay in the hospital, post-operative case and was less painful.
The procedures should be made accessible and affordable without compromising on quality, he said.
Dr. Tempton Udwadia, Gastroenterologist and General Surgeon at Mumbai’s Breach Candy hospital, was felicitated for his pioneering efforts in the field of laparoscopy in India.
