health minister must look at many other issues related with health of commen man than banning smoking. ban carbon mono emmting vehicles. bring dowm costs of medicines, arrest who are selling outdated drugs. etc.

Not only smoke-free work-places but also a smoke-free world should be our ideal goal; but there is a limit to enforcing anything which is even in the best interest of the society. Ramdoss has pestered Buddha too much now. If Budhdeb Bhattacharjee does not smoke in his office most of the time he will have to remain absent from it..

Smoking is bad for health and young people should be educated to refrain from smoking. However, millions lack access to bacis health facilities and Ifeel that the minister should concentrace more on providing such facilities.

In a lawless country India, imposing fine on smoking is nothing but a boon for ground level cops. Are laws for fundamental human rights even enforced in India? According to my own experience, I have no confidence in Police, Judiciary, and administration. They all are expert in time-buying and doing nothing. The current situation in India is nothing but anarchy, result of 60 years occupation of Nehru-family led Congress. All politicians, bureaucrats, judges behave like kings and expect people to bow in front of them with folded hands. In order to assert their kinghood, they only keep on issuing Tuglaki farmaans. We have got a bogus independence in 1947 where only occupiers have been replaced with native ones. But I am confident that one day, Indian Lenin Nehru's statue will be brought down and ripped apart by our own Indians.

HI ANBUMANI YOU YOURSELF GAVE INTERVIEW TO A TV SHOW IN TAMILNADU THAT "EVEN MORE THAN 50 MPS AND 5 CHIEF MINISTERS WERE CONDEMNED THE DECISION OF PICTURES OF ADVERSE EFFECTS OF SMOKING TO BE PRINTED ON THE COVER,AND MOREOVER U URSELF SAID IT CAN'T BE ENFORCED COZ OF POLITICAL REASONS"EVEN IN OUR OWN STATE TN U CAN'T IMPLEMENT COZ OF VOTE BANK U WENT TO ADVISE WB CM...INSTEAD OF MAKING FALSE BOASTING TO 100 OVER MILLION PEOPLE.ASK UR PM AND GOVERNMENT TO CLOSE DOWN FACTORIES WHICH IS LESS THAN 10 IN MUMBER....

Cigarette smoking is rising appalling among young people even school children. IT is foolish to support expansion of the cigarette market because distributors, manufacturers and their workers, retailers, tobacco growers, etc., depend on the market sales for their livelihood. You can also argue in its favour saying that the doctors, nurses and clinical technicians , etc;, "depend" on the incomes from patients with burnt or cancered lungs spreading a variety of diseases in society, and exhibiting nervousness through their perpetual excited temperament and rashness in behaviour in society and family. Our govt. 'depends' on smoking for a huge part of revenue (less huge evasions by cigarette manufacturers), as do excise collectors abetting evasion, The culprit of all this is the media showing "heroes" smoking. It is not going to be easy for our health minister to ban smoking or prevent the wideninng 'smoking base, no less easy for smokers to quit smoking (until imminent death forces it)

Yathaa Raja Tathaa Praja, so goes an old saying known all over India. Common people follow what their leaders do or will not give up vices if people in limelight have the same. Mr Anbumani Ramadoss deserves to be thanked for boldy asking the West Bengal CM to quit smoking citing reports that his smoking deterred huge potential foreign aid funds flowing in. He has been carrying on a lone battle in the cabinet against actors (and actresses) smoking in films. Indian youth seem to follow the reel life greats in smoking habits, while the reel world apes the West in equating smoking as symbols of masculinity, heroism, etc. Our youth however fails to follow the West or the Chinese in collecting gold medals or winning Nobel laureates or Fields medals, preferring to thrill in reel world glories which will never be complimented except by their own friends and colleagues.