NATA chief stresses need for smoke-free environment

by Ananda KANNANGARA

The National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol (NATA) said that Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS) also known as "Second-hand Smoke" poses a grave health hazard to non smokers and called upon staff members of children's schools, montessoris, tuition classes and day care centres countrywide to create a smoke-free environment in their institutions.

NATA chairman Prof. Carlo Fonseka told the Sunday Observer that if action is not taken by the heads of institutions, where the young gathers most, it would badly affect the growth of Sri Lankan children in the future.

"The ETS is unpleasant, annoying and irritating to the eyes and nose of people, especially youngsters as it contains over 4,000 different chemicals of them 43 are definitely cause cancer," he said.

Prof. Fonseka, who is also the head of the Sri Lanka Medical Council called upon parents to check whether these institutions have a smoke free environment and ensure that they enroll their children only to such institutions.

He said Second-hand Smoke is a combination of smoke from a burning cigarette and the smoke exhaled by a smoker.

Prof. Fonseka said ETS pollutes the air and is retained in clothing, hair, curtains, home appliances including furniture and hence ETS is dangerous to ones life.

Quoting international statistics, Prof. Fonseka said around 26 percent of adults in the United States smoke cigarettes and 50 to 67 percent of children under five years live in homes where there is at least one adult smoker.