Yes, it is possible if there is a political will on part of all political parties
Here is how New Zealand showed its determination to save lives of its citizen :
New Zealand passes unique tobacco minimum age law aiming to ban smoking for next generation
Extract :
New Zealand has passed into law a unique plan to phase out tobacco smoking for the next generation by imposing a lifetime ban on young people buying cigarettes.
The law states that tobacco can't ever be sold to anybody born on or after January 1, 2009 - and from now on, the minimum age for buying cigarettes will keep going up and up.
In theory, somebody trying to buy a pack of cigarettes 50 years from now would need ID to show they were at least 63 years old.
But health authorities hope smoking will fade away well before then. They have a stated goal of making New Zealand smoke-free by 2025.
"There is no good reason to allow a product to be sold that kills half the people that use it," Associate Minister of Health Dr. Ayesha Verrall told lawmakers in Parliament. "And I can tell you that we will end this in the future, as we pass this legislation".
New Zealand is not the only nation pushing to ban smoking for the next generations. In June, a report commissioned by the UK government recommended raising the legal smoking age each year to phase out tobacco use among young people.
Denmark also unveiled similar plans earlier this year, but the government said such a move would require changes to the EU's Tobacco Products Directive.
A citizens' initiative later petitioned the European Commission to ban the sale of tobacco and nicotine products to EU citizens born after 2010.
According to the latest data from Eurostat, 18.4 per cent of people aged 15 and over in the EU smoke every day. But the figure ranges from 6.4 per cent in Sweden to 23.6 per cent in Greece and 28.7 per cent in Bulgaria.
New Zealand already restricts cigarette sales to those aged 18 and over, requires tobacco packs to come with graphic health warnings and cigarettes to be sold in standardised packs.
The country in recent years also imposed a series of hefty tax hikes on cigarettes.
Verrall said the new law would create generational change, while the health system would save billions from not needing to treat illnesses caused by smoking, such as cancer, heart attacks, and strokes.
Tobacco kills up to half of its users - resulting in more than 8 million deaths each year, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), which has long called for measures such as advertising bans, plain packaging, and higher taxes on tobacco products to discourage smoking.
The past two decades have also seen smoking bands expand across many countries in enclosed public places, on public transport, in offices, and also public parks and beaches.
MY TAKE :
From the above mentioned news report, it is obvious that most countries trying to save lives of their youth, are focussing on the TOBACCO CONSUMERS
Seems logical
But, in a country like India, such a focus on the END USERS , is unlikely to produce desired results
How can you catch and punish following if they break the law ? :
# 25 Lakhs of tobacco sellers
# Millions of Cigarette smokers
Entire SUPPLY CHAIN looks like following :
Tobacco growers > Cigarette / Bidi Manufacturers > Distributors > Stockists > 25 LAKH Pan-Bidi Shops > Smokers
[ Within next 12 months, New Zealand plans to shut down 90 % of its 6,000 Cigarette retailers ]
I believe ,we must start DISMANTLING this supply chain by focussing on the Cigarette Manufacturers as suggested by me as far back as 2013 , in my following e-mail to our Cabinet Ministers :
Ø Going Up in Smoke ? ………………………………..[ 18 Aug 2013 ]
Extract :
India's tobacco industry supports 38 million people ( 380 lakhs )
Every year , some 6 million ( 60 lakh )people die in India thru use of tobacco ( mostly cigarettes )
Of these , some 6 lakh die by inhaling smoke of other cigarette smokers
So what can we do to save these 60 lakh ?
Immediately close down entire tobacco industry ?
And jeopardize the lives of 380 lakh ?
Obviously , we cannot adopt a mutually exclusive solution !
We must find a solution that , not only saves those 60 lakh but also continue to provide livelihood to 380 lakhs
That cannot be done in one - or even five - years , but it is entirely possible to solve this problem over , 20 years , as follows :
> Thru appropriate legislation , phase out tobacco industry by 2033
> Immediately stop expansion of existing units
> Do not allow new units to come up
> Place a recruitment freeze in tobacco industry - no fresh hiring at any level
> No replacement for retiring employees , after 2018
> Provide incentives to industry to redeploy capital / manpower in alternate industries - especially those
industries with large scope for creation of new jobs
> Give generous tax-breaks to industry to remain profitable , even as they wind-up operations
> Provide incentives to put up new-industry projects in less industrialized regions
> Provide incentives for re-training existing workers in new skills in demand by others
> Subsidize Voluntary Retirement Schemes of industry
This is just a partial list . I am sure , if there is political will , experts will come up with many more viable suggestions
Question :
With national elections looming on the horizon , which political party would want to alienate , a lucrative source of election funding ?
With Regards,
Hemen Parekh
hcp@RecruitGuru.com / 15 Dec 2022
Related Readings :
Ø Ambiguity is Bad ! ……………………………………….[ 02 April 2016 ]
Ø Thank You , Shri Sanjay Kumar …………………..[ 26 April 2016 ]
Ø How About Herbs that Heal ?...................... [ 26 May 2017 ]
Ø Killing an Elephant with a Needle ? ……………….[ 20 Sept 2017 ]
Ø There is a Better Way !.............................
Ø Banning Tobacco : an ECHO from New Zealand [ 09 Dec 2021 ]
Ø Indian Brothers aim to recycle 35 Billion cigarette butts into products
Extract :
"We engage with more than 2,000 rag-pickers across India to collect cigarette butts," the company says.
"We have created a business model wherein the associates (through a current network of more than 250 districts in India) get money for their supplies."
Stating that their future goal is now to increase the volume of recycling of waste, Naman said they plan to recycle 300-400 tons monthly by 2025, which is around 5%-6% of the total cigarette butts generated annually in India.
"By 2026, our goal is to reach the target of recycling at least 35 billion cigarette butts," he added.
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