No one knows how dangerous chemicals are in every type of bidi and cigarette made in India. There is no system to check it. This is the situation when many countries of the world are moving ahead on the strategy of preventing deaths by reducing nicotine from cigarettes.

For example, the US, which is not even a member of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), is making a policy to limit the amount of nicotine in cigarettes. India, on the other hand, is a member of the FCTC, yet has not moved in this direction yet.

Central government can take action soon

This is the reason that the arbitrariness of the cigarette-bidi makers is going on. But, now the central government is in the process of making changes in the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA). Under this, companies will be obliged to mention hazardous chemicals on cigarette packets and also to state the quantity of those chemicals.

An official of the Union Health Ministry said that three world-class labs have been set up to test the hazardous chemicals in cigarettes. Now a scientific committee will be formed. This committee will decide how to investigate dangerous chemicals. It is believed that in the next two-three months, the blueprint of the Standard Operating Procedure (SoP) of the investigation will be ready.

Companies will be able to be bound only after changes in the law

Dr. SK Arora, a WHO awardee for his work on prohibition of tobacco, says that a change in the law is necessary. Only then will companies be obliged to disclose the amount of hazardous chemicals in their products. The claims being made by the companies will also be investigated. Cigarettes and bidis contain about 7,000 chemicals including nicotine. Out of this, there are 200 types of toxins. There are 69 chemicals that cause cancer. If these chemicals are controlled then millions of deaths can be prevented.

The more nicotine in cigarettes, the fewer deaths

According to the New York Times, 4.8 million deaths occur each year in the United States from the effects of cigarettes. The main reason for this is the high amount of nicotine. The US is now making a policy to bring only low-volume cigarettes of nicotine to the market. The new policy will be implemented by May 2023. The special thing is that a proposal has been prepared to reduce the amount of nicotine in cigarettes by up to 95%. The US government believes that doing so can also reduce cigarette deaths by up to 95%.