Ridma DISSANAYAKE
Cigarette production in Sri Lanka has gone down by 20 percent in the last five years. According to statistics, around 4,900 million cigarettes were produced per year and it had reduced to 4,200 million,said Sri Lanka Medical Association committee member Dr. Sajeewa Ranaweera. The percentage of daily smokers in Sri Lanka is 18.6 percent. It is the lowest rate among 140 countries. According to a World Health Organization (WHO) research done by the the percentage of cigarette consumption has reduced to five percent in Sri Lanka, he said.
Dr. Sajeewa was addressing a workshop for media personnel on "How we can transform the tax policy on cigarettes as an advantage for the government". The workshop was held at the Information Department, under the patronage of National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol (NATA) chairman Prof. Carlo Fonseka Wednesday.
"There are four methods to follow to reduce tobacco and alcohol consumption in the country.
The four methods are stopping advertising and promoting tobacco and alcohol, increasing tax, banning smoking in public places and holding awareness programmes and health promotion campaigns for the public," Dr. Sajeewa said.
http://www.dailynews.lk/2011/11/04/news40.asp
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