Mani Ratnam hospitalized in Apollo

Mani Ratnam recovering after complaints of breathing problem

Chennai (PTI): Renowned film director Mani Ratnam, admitted to a hospital on Tuesday night after complaining of breathing problems and discomfort in chest, is recuperating and would be allowed to resume work after resting for a couple of days.

"Doctors said there was nothing to panic and the director is healthy," Ratnam's spokesman Nikhil Murugan said.

Mr. Ratnam (52) was admitted to a hospital last night after he complained of "breathing difficulty" and discomfort in the chest.

The director, who introduced Oscar-winning musician A R Rahman in "Roja", had survived a heart attack in 2004 when he was filming the multi-starrer, bi-lingual 'Yuva'.

Mr. Mani Ratnam is currently involved in a project, tentatively titled 'Ravan' that stars national award winner Vikram, Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai, among others.

Mr. Ratnam, who has made block busters in Tamil and Hindi cinema, is known to make movies on controversial issues like the Bombay riots in and terrorism-related subjects such as the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer 'Dil Se', 'Roja' and 'Kannathil Muthamittal'.

MP attacks 'light' cigarettes

The government needs to force tobacco companies to wrap their products in plain packaging and stop using the term 'light', a leading MP has said.

Charlotte Atkins, a member of the Health Select Committee, said "research has found that current tobacco packaging is misleading by implying that some tobacco products are less harmful than others".

The Staffordshire Moorlands Labour MP has helped table a parliamentary motion drawing attention to a recent article adopted by the World Health Organisation Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which defines tobacco packaging and display as a means of advertising and promotion.

The parliamentary motion "believes that misleading packaging is in contravention of the EU directive on tobacco products and that research also shows that removing colours and brand imagery from packs increases the effectiveness of health warnings and supports the prohibition of retail display of tobacco products".

Ms Atkins said she wanted to the government "to introduce measures to require plain packaging of all tobacco products by regulation".

A Department of Health spokesperson confirmed to politics.co.uk that the issue of 'unbranding' cigarette boxes was under review but that no decision had yet been taken.

source:http://www.politics.co.uk/

health warnings

Has govt delayed health warnings on cigarette packs to control population?

epeated dithering by UPA government in introducing pictorial signs and health warnings on cigarette packets invited a stinging query
from the Supreme Court on Monday: "Is the government doing this to control rapidly increasing population?"

Appearing for NGO `Health for Millions', senior advocate Indira Jaising told a Bench comprising Justices B N Agrawal and G S Singhvi that the government had succumbed to the pressure exerted by the tobacco lobby and repeatedly postponed implementation of its decision on pictorial warnings.

She asked how the government, which has ministers who own tobacco plantations, could take a decision that was contrary to their interests? Jaising alleged that even the pictorial sign, which was to be `skull and bones' -- internationally understood to depict danger — had been diluted to `scorpion' which meant nothing for the common man. She reeled out statistics about large number of deaths caused every day due to use of tobacco in the form of cigarettes, beedis and chewing tobacco.

However, additional solicitor general Gopal Subramaniam said the government had taken a decision to introduce pictorial signs and health warnings on tobacco packs from May 31, 2009 and the health ministry was coordinating with other ministries for the same.

Before adjourning the case to April 30, the Bench asked Subramaniam: "Has the government diluted the pictorial sign and deferred implementation to control burgeoning population?"


source:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/

Pictorial warnings on tobacco products from May 30

Manufacturers would display the statutory pictorial warning on their cigarette and tobacco products from May 30 onwards as the Centre on Monday promised to enforce the rule making the provision mandatory in a month’s time.

Additional Solicitor General Gopal Subramanium gave the assurance to a bench headed by Justice B.N. Aggarwal after senior counsel Indira Jaisingh, appearing for NGO Health for Millions, alleged the Centre was dragging its feet on the issue.

Jaisingh accused the government of buckling under the pressure from the tobacco lobby. When Jaisingh complained the Centre had diluted the original warning signals on tobacco products, the bench said in a lighter vein: “This way, the government wants to control the population.”

According to Jaisingh the government had initially planned to display images of a skull and bone, besides using a caution that tobacco products even kill a baby in mother’s womb. However, using X-ray images of lungs on the label of tobacco products has diluted the warning, she claimed.

After hearing the Centre and Jaisingh the court agreed to take up latter’s application for a final disposal on April 30.



source:http://www.hindustantimes.com

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