By IANS
New Delhi : Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss has urged Finance Minister P. Chidambaram to increase taxes on tobacco products in the national budget to be presented to parliament Feb 29.
“We have requested the finance minister to increase the taxes on (tobacco) products so that the alarming figures of its consumption as compared to other countries can come down,” Ramadoss told reporters on the sidelines of a conference he inaugurated.
He said that in India more than 300 million people are addicted to tobacco and hinted at curtailing tobacco cultivation in the near future.
Taking pot shots at cine stars Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan, he said creativity should not be aimed at taking lives.
“Creativity should be used to save lives and not to take lives,” he said.
He had earlier requested films stars to quit smoking as they influence young minds.
The minister had also written a letter to the information and broadcasting ministry to stop surrogate advertisements for liquor and tobacco products.
“Advertisements play a very vital role in influencing young minds, so stop surrogate advertisements showing liquor and tobacco products is the need of the hour,” the health minister said.