Panaji: NGO – National Organisation for Tobacco Eradication (NOTE) – has appealed the central government to ban production and sale of tobacco products as one of the step to prevent spread of COVID-19.
NOTE Secretary Shekhar Salkar, in a statement issued here, has said that spitting of smokeless tobacco, pan masala and the like products, in public place cause spread of infectious diseases dangerous to life such as tuberculosis, hepatitis, influenza, swine flu, pneumonia, gastro-intestinal diseases, Coronavirus (COVID-19) and other persistent infectious diseases which take a huge toll on life.
He said that State Government has taken measures to prevent widespread epidemic of COVID-19 and has notified regulation as The Goa Epidemic Disease, COVID-19 Regulations, 2020.
Salkar has said that the Government of Goa in exercise of powers conferred under Section 2 of the Epidemics Diseases Act 1897, has framed the Goa Epidemic Disease COVID-19 Regulations for prevention and the spread of dangerous epidemic diseases.
“To prevent the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19) and other infectious diseases dangerous to life, it is expedient in the interest of public health to prohibit production, manufacture, import, export, transport, sale, distribution, storage, advertisement and use of smokeless tobacco, pan masala and the like products which induce or encourage spitting or its use in the State of Goa under section 2 of the Epidemics Diseases Act 1897,” he said.
