Buyline Ravi V.Chhabra
Lakhs of smokers die of cancer in Mother India. Sad. Most people do not take the surgeon general’s caution seriously. Sadder. Smoking is banned in public places and bars, pubs, clubs, bistros et al. Ridiculous/farcical. Smoking causes death. Factual. Reason: Every smoker who reads it, regrets having read it and furthermore, ignores reading it the secondtime. Brilliant! The Government is cold-eyed. (Guaranteed).
According to a 2008 report in dancingwithshadows.com, “A study has revealed that there are currently about 120 million smokers in the country and the rate of tobacco-linked deaths is increasing at about 3% a year. The study, conducted by Dr Prabhat Jha, of the Centre for Global Health at the University in Toronto and his groupies, said that in 2010 alone, smoking will lead to nearly 1 million deaths in India. Further, 70% of those deaths will occur in men and women aged between 30 to 69. The study was published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
The study was conducted on a nationally representative sample of 1.1 million Indian households. Dr. Jha and his colleagues studied the prevalence of smoking among 33,000 deceased women and 41,000 deceased men. This was then contrasted with the prevalence of smoking among 35,000 living women and 43,000 living men.
Tobacco is still sold in its most pure/raw formats in every cranny of developing India (read hookah). An unIncredible India, where the cost of a single kings’ cigarette alone can provide for a basic meal for one. But, this is not happening. There can only be two reasons for it. One, the people(smoke addicts) are not get ting the message clearly and next, the Government has other pastimes rather than imposing a ‘rightful ban’ on tobacco at the cost of intimidating the lobbyists and tobacco companies.
“Now, smoke your cigarette and even enjoy (read Njoy) it as much because this one(a lesser known brand) comes without tobacco and is an E-Cigarette. It is actually good for health (for passives!). And, you don’t need an ash-tray to stub it either. It’s lifetime reusable”, says a lawyer-to-be Aman Thukral. Welcome to the world of virtual cigarettes or ‘Electronic Cigarette’ (EC). The tobacco-less avatars are imported mainly from Bangkok, Hongkong and the original and best-grosser NJoy – popular in the US, it is unreliably learnt is mostly of Chinese origin and costs higher. But the less famous brands can range from Rs. 6000 a pack (single rechargeable cigarette) upwards.
The fnbworld spoke with one such ‘Electronic Cigarette’ dealer, who is studying law. Aman Thukral (23), says, “An E-Cigarettes box of (1 cigarette) costs Rs 6,000 (includes free 20-puffs trial /charger and doorstep delivery). The cigarette needs 2 hours of charging and can be puffed over 500-times, before it has to be recharged and it is, indeed, without any harmful effects or toxins/ tobacco-smoke. It gives out smoke and the same sensations in the lungs! It sure-shot facilitates tobacco de-addiction”, he asserts. Let’s try it. Please.
– Reproduced with Special Permission from fnbworld.com {News for Soul}.
