Unite to ban liquor, tobacco

 

 

Prasoon S Majumdar, in his Musings column (TSI July 27), has not only commended the idea of cess on education as a welcome step but also hinted at the disastrous consequence of liquor and tobacco. So it is a proven fact that the plan of cess on education will partially compensate the doldrums in education. Of course, in the present scenario of the government's lukewarm response to banning liquor and tobacco, I am inspired to sing praises of the writer’s view. The proposed cess seems to be a manna from heaven. But in the long run, if the various other states follow suit, it will be all gloom and doom. Consequently, in the pretext of educational reforms, people would be too much biased to dub the funds raised from the sale of liquor and tobacco as a significant prop to education. Moreover, the writer warns us that India is home to 12 per cent of the world’s smokers and the cost of tobacco related diseases is not less than Rs 280 billion. Hence, in such gruesome and apprehensive circumstances, the governments, media and the conscious citizens should come forward to ban the consumption of the pernicious liquor and tobacco. Hope, TSI will steal the show by creating a universal awareness to root out such social malaise.

Durbadal Ghibela

Bolangir, Orissa