A fire at one end, a fool at the other - Editorial

Substantial medical evidence is available today that whatever delusions may have been promoted in the past - such as smoking being a sign of masculinity – a smoker is a clear case of a fire at one end and a fool at the other.
Last year the World Health Organisation (WHO) which has launched an all-out campaign against tobacco smoking and marks the World No Tobacco Day on May 31 had an important theme – “Stop industry interference”.

This is the main problem facing Sri Lanka today, and we hope that Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena – who won a WHO global excellence award this year for his sustained battle against tobacco smoking and interference by the powerful industry - will eventually win the battle for the common good and health of our people and our country. Fortunately, the Minister has been well advised and excellently assisted by one of Sri Lanka’s most eminent physicians, Prof. Carlo Fonseka who for the past six years has been the Chairman of the National Alcohol and Tobacco Authority (NATA). Volunteer groups like Addict headed by Pubudu Sumanasekera, have also played a key role to enlighten those who are in the darkness of tobacco addiction.
Sri Lanka was one of the first countries to sign and ratify the United Nations Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) in 2005. Now more than 180 countries have signed it and it is international law.

Under Article 11 of the FCTC countries that have gratified the convention are required to carry pictorial health warnings on packets of cigarettes. When Health Minister Sirisena took over in 2010, he pushed for the pictorial health warning to cover 80% of the front and back of the packs. The size of the warning could be decided by the respective Governments depending on the extent of the health hazards posed by tobacco smoking.
Investigations in Sri Lanka have revealed that about one in five people smoke, while the number of deaths from smoking-related ailments range from 12,000 to 20,000 a year. More than 60% of those who smoke die from ailments connected to this addiction. Besides those who smoke, there are also the victims of passive smoking. These victims include even children and pregnant mothers who are afflicted by the smoke exhaled by the smoker. Smoking in most public places and even private offices is prohibited but the number of smokers is still high though it has come down because of the intense anti-tobacco campaign. Though Sri Lanka ratified the FCTC in 2005 and regulations for the health warning on packets of cigarettes were gazetted two years ago, a legal battle is still going on over the size of the warning notice. The Minister is insisting on a 80% warning notice, while the industry is asking for a warning notice that covers about 50% of the pack, claiming that the warning notice in countries like India covers only 35% of the pack, though in Thailand it is 85%.

Whatever the percentage, the vital factor obviously is last year’s WHO theme, ‘No industry interference’. The extent of the danger and the size of the warning notice are issues that should be decided by the Government and the people of Sri Lank without industry interference. Religious leaders including Mahanayake Theras have spoken out strongly and even taken action in support of the anti-tobacco campaign. The President and other Government leaders also need to speak out and act strongly in favour of the Health Minister’s anti-tobacco campaign because it would be foolish to depend on taxes while the country burns.