Cigarettes and Other Products Act (COPTA), 2003 would be strictly enforced in Dimapur district. Announcing this in a press release, National Tobacco Control Programme (NTCP) district nodal officer Dr. C. Tetseo said the public and shop keepers should be aware of COPTA section 4,5,6 and 7.
Dr. C. Tetseo said the COPTA section 4 dealt with ban on smoking in public places like offices (public & private), malls, hotels, hospitals, banquet halls, discotheques, auditoriums, libraries, airport, railway and bus stations etc. while section 5 dealt with ban on advertisement of tobacco products.
The nodal officer informed that section 6 had two parts – part (a) banned the sale of tobacco products to any persons below the age of 18 years and part (b) banned the sale of tobacco products within 100 yards perimeter from educational institutions.
Section 7 of COPTA also banned the sale of tobacco products without pictorial warning said Dr. C. Tetseo adding that the offence for the above mentioned sections were punishable under the provision of the Act.
The modal officer has requested the public, students, media, shop keepers and all stake holders to extend their cooperation towards this campaign and make society tobacco free.
He said district tobacco squad and other enforcing agencies would be carrying out their duties and warned that defaulters would be penalized.
Smoking can cause progressive vision loss
New Delhi, Oct 9 (IANS): The hazards of smoking are well known. But what is not so well known is that smoking can also be a reason for vision loss in people at or above the age of 50 years due to what is called Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD).
AMD is an eye condition that leads to the deterioration of the centre of the retina, called the macula. It has emerged as the leading cause of vision loss in people.
“People who smoke, those suffering from cardiac diseases, excessive exposure to ultraviolet light and the fair skinned people are at a higher risk of acquiring AMD,” Deependra V. Singh, director of eye-care centre Eye Q Retina, told IANS.
“As there are no specific preventive measures, we advise people to quit smoking, protect the eyes from ultraviolet light and control their cholesterol,” Deependra Singh said.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), AMD is the third largest cause of vision loss worldwide. It first leads to vision distortion and, if not treated well, can cause permanent vision loss.
In this disease, the photo receptor cell of the retina is killed by waste products, and tiny spots called “Drusen” are developed, which then leads to blurring of vision. This is the dry AMD, one type of AMD.
“The most severe is the wet AMD in which a neo-vascular membrane behind or in the retina grows progressively and destroys the central retina.
It is not a cancer but behaves like one and the wet AMD, if not treated on time, can cause permanent blindness,” Deependra Singh said.