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• Cigarette warning goes up in smoke over anti-tobacco warnings 

What the health ministry proposes, the information and broadcasting (I&B) ministry disposes.

This is the case with regard to restricting scenes showing use of tobacco in movies and television serials.

The new rules to restrict smoking scenes, unveiled by the health ministry with much fanfare in November 2011, have been quietly kept in abeyance by the I&B ministry, documents obtained under the RTI Act have revealed. Under pressure from Bollywood, the ministry has asked the censor board to just ignore the new rules.

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• ''Jannat 2' ad showing Emraan smoking unlawful' 

Newspaper advertisements of the film "Jannat 2" showing actor Emraan Hashmi smoking a cigarette violated anti-tobacco laws, an NGO said Thursday pointing to the violation.

In a letter to the health ministry and the information and broadcasting ministry, HRIDAY (Health Related Information Dissemination Amongst Youth) pointed to "blatant violations of the rules" in the print advertisements.

"These ads, showing Hashmi smoking, have been published in supplements of leading national dailies. This amounts to a violation of the Rule 9(2) of the said (government) notification," said the letter.

It cited the notification saying that "any promotional material and posters of the films and television programmes shall not depict any tobacco products or their usage in films".

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WHO calls for hookah ban in Delhi  

A kick in the butt: Is the end near for Benson, Marlboro in India?  

'Can't let gutkha industry die'  

Ban gutkha, Centre tells Karnataka; CM unaware of advisory  

The Union ministry of health and family welfare has issued a letter advising the state government to ban sale of gutkha (pan masala with tobacco) to prevent its adverse impacts on health due to increasing consumption.

The letter, dated April 25, has been sent to principal secretary, health, EV Ramana Reddy, by the special secretary of Union ministry of health and family welfare, Keshav Desiraju, in the background of growing concern among city oncologists over increasing number of oral cancer cases due to consumption of tobacco in the smokeless form.

Desiraju has said that apart from the risks associated with tobacco, as per the notification by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) (Prohibition And Restriction on Sales), in August 2011, food products should not contain any substance that is injurious to health, and therefore, tobacco and nicotine shall not be used as ingredients in any food products.

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• Cigarette import curbs likely: End of the road for Camel Marlboro, Benson & Hedges? 

The government is mulling curbs on import of cigarettes and a complete ban on foreign participation in wholesale trading in tobacco and cigarettes.

The move comes two years after India disallowed foreign direct investment in cigarette manufacturing.

The finance ministry has written to the commerce ministry to consider imposing restrictions on cigarette imports in the upcoming foreign trade policy.

"There is a thinking that FDI should be discontinued in wholesale cash and carry also, and that the government should impose restrictions on imports of cigarettes," a government official privy to the development said.

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Anti-tobacco campaign during IPL  

A court in Jaipur recently summoned team Kolkata boss Shahrukh Khan for smoking in public during an IPL match on April 8. That was at SMS Stadium. Three weeks later, a massive anti-tobacco campaign would hit the boundaries of Barabati stadium at Cuttack on Tuesday.

As Pune will lock horns with Hyderabad, anti-tobacco brigade will compete with cheerleaders in the off-the-field activities. "Managers, organizers, government, civil society and stadium authorities are all set to be involved in spreading anti-tobacco messages among the viewers and passersby," said Itishree Kanungo, an anti-tobacco activist.

Voluntary Health Association of India -- Aparajita, a health organization working in the field of tobacco control, is coordinating this campaign at the stadium.

During the event, there will be display of tobacco control messages. At the entrances of the stadium "No smoking" signages would be displayed. There will be awareness among the audience while they are in the lines to enter into the stadium. Handouts containing anti-tobacco messages will be distributed among people outside the stadium.

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I am not a bad influence: Srinagara Kitty 

New carcinogen in smokeless tobacco identified 

Hookah parlour raid: Court fines 44 

Ban on Gutkha on the cards in Odisha  

15 penalised for tobacco-related offences  

US trade opposes total FDI ban in India's tobacco sector 

UP moves to make varsities tobacco-free