11 CMs pledge support against tobacco

New Delhi: Chief ministers of 11 states, on persuasion of patients of oral cancer, have pledged their support to ban against tobacco products, a statement said on Tuesday. According to the Voluntary Health Association of India (VHAI), the chief ministers of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Goa, Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand signed the pledge. “The victims of oral cancer along with oncologists met their respective chief ministers and urged them to protect the people of their states from the harmful effects of tobacco products by implementing stringent pictorial warnings on chewing tobacco products and stopping sale of such products near educational institutions,” the statement said. The chief ministers in return assured the victims of their commitment by signing a pledge calling for a ban on gutka and khaini products. (IANS)