Sri Lanka Stops Cigarette Sales in Over 100 Towns

Over 100 towns in Sri Lanka have stopped cigarette sales to make the country tobacco-free, said the Health Ministry.

According to the ministry, the Public Health Inspectors Union launched several programmes across the country to educate locals on the ill effects of smoking and as a result, shop owners and businessmen in many towns stopped selling cigarettes.

Researchers Reveal E-cigarrettes Target Kids, Call for Control of its Sale in England
E-cigarettes contain a highly addictive drug that may have more serious and longer lasting impacts on children because their brains are still developing.

‘Srilankan government is also planning to ban tobacco cultivation by 2020.’

Tweet it Now

Twenty-two towns in Jaffna, 17 towns in Matara and 16 towns in Kurunegala joined others in boycotting the sale of cigarettes. Currently, 107 towns are part of the drive, Xinhua news agency reported.

Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne, while expressing satisfaction over the numbers, said they hope to increase these figures to 200 in 2019.

The Sri Lankan government in recent years has taken several steps to discourage smoking and the sale of cigarettes.

Teens Exposed to Tobacco 'Power Wall' More Prone to Use E-cigarettes
Adolescents who were exposed tobacco advertisements in convenience stories are more prone to try out vaping products than those who are not exposed to tobacco advertisements.

Among these steps were increasing the tax on tobacco up to 90 per cent, increasing the area of pictorial warning on the cigarette pack to 80 percent, banning the sale of cigarettes around a radius of 100 metres from schools and declaring public places as non-smoking zones.

The government is also considering a ban on tobacco cultivation by 2020.

E-cigarettes Can Damage DNA and Raise the Risk of Cancer
E-cigarettes can damage genetic material or DNA in users which may raise cancer risk, finds a new study.

Source-IANS

Beware: E-cigarettes can be as Harmful as Cigarettes
Long-term use of e-cigarettes containing nicotine is associated with an increased cardiovascular risk.