Standing Tall for Health
May 10, 2011
Home to the world's tallest mountain, Nepal also has big ambitions for improving health: It has just enacted a tough, comprehensive tobacco-control law that requires smoke-free public places and workplaces, mandates pictorial health warnings covering 75 percent of tobacco packages, and bans tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorships.
The warning label requirements will apply to cigarettes, chewing tobacco and other tobacco products such as bidis, a small, hand-rolled cigarette that is used in Nepal, India and elsewhere in South Asia.
The law also bans the sale of individual cigarettes and prohibits sales to pregnant women and children under 18. It also introduces a health tax on tobacco products.
About 29 percent of men and 26 percent of women in Nepal smoke, according to The Tobacco Atlas. And more than 25,000 people die each year from tobacco-caused illnesses, The Himalayan Times reports. Nepal is a party to the World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, the first global public health treaty.
Health Secretary Sudha Sharma said the government would enforce the new regulations effectively, and take action against those working against the spirit of the law.
Congratulations to the government of Nepal and the tobacco control advocates who have worked tirelessly to enact the new law.