DTMT NETWORK (Drug Today Medical Times)Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan, who left on Monday for Barcelona, Spain to participate in the World Health Organization (WHO)’s symposium on Tuberculosis (TB), said he would stress the importance of community driven solutions to TB, the disease considered the biggest killer worldwide.
According to WHO statistics, India has the highest burden of TB, reporting 230 cases per 1 lakh population.
The minister said he would highlight the need for building up community-led action strategies for fighting TB in all parts of the world, including India. “The highest priority accorded to our anti-TB drive by making mandatory notification of TB cases, banning of commercial serological diagnostic tests for TB, web-based notification and tracking of cases, restriction of open market sales of TB drugs and prevention of irrational use, have already caught the imagination of global experts,” he pointed out.
Speaking about the trip the minister said, “I look forward to this visit because I have already geared up the Ministry to accept the challenge of eliminating the TB scourge and meeting the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) by 2015.”
The minister may also use the forum to unambiguously state India’s opposition to e-cigarette marketing and consumption as research has shown that it eventually leads to more people surrendering to tobacco. During his address to global tobacco control experts, Dr Harsh Vardhan will spell out his agreement with the need for a ban of the so-called “Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems” – or e-cigarettes.
The minister has already attracted international attention for advocating the highest ever tax hike on tobacco products as implemented through the Union Budget 2014-15.
http://www.drugtodayonline.com/nation.html
