The Central Government has Anti- Tobacco body in a vice like grip

New Delhi: Is the incumbent central government a tobacco lobby friendly regime? Is the government throttling the highly appreciated indigenous public health advocacy body PHFI (Public Health Foundation of India), which ran a very successful anti tobacco campaign, at the behest of this mighty lobby?

Well, the PHFI has not imputed it directly yet; ITC (Indian Tobacco Company), the tobacco (cigarette) major of India itself has brazened out and revealed the ‘link-up’ in so many words. Just after the government swooped on the anti tobacco advocacy body, the tobacco company ran a poster campaign blatantly thanking the government for cancelling the FRCA (Foreign Contribution Regulation Act) license of PHFI, its bête noire and adversary number one. The posters also clearly stated that the company’s thanksgiving was ‘for listening to us’, giving the impression as if ITC had interceded asking the government to act against anti tobacco advocacy groups.

In the recent AGM of ITC (Indian Tobacco Company), its chairman Y.C. Deveshwar is allegedly said to be gloating over the cancellation of PHFI’s license, saying that it was a good move on the part of the government to have taken anti tobacco campaigners to task.