Delhi govt requests SRK, others not to endorse pan masala

January 17, 2016

New Delhi, Jan 17: The Delhi government has written to Bollywood actors Ajay Devgan, Shah Rukh Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Govinda, Arbaaz Khan and Sunny Leone, urging them not to endorse pan masala products as they contain areca nuts, a potential cancer causing agent.

panThe Delhi government has also asked the actors to join its anti-tobacco campaign to save the lives of lakhs of people who die due to oral cancer every year.

"You are often seen on TV and other media advertising pan masala products. Even if these pan masalas do not contain tobacco or nicotine, they surely contain areca nuts (supari) and now there are a lot of scientific evidences which prove that supari causes cancer.

"Moreover, some of these pan masala advertisements are surrogate advertisements of tobacco products which the manufacturing companies try to promote," said Dr S K Arora, Additional Director (Health), Delhi government, in his letters.

Arora said tobacco use among Indian women is showing an increasing trend as compared to the rest of the world and that these advertisements, apart from e-cigarettes and hookah smoking, are playing a major role in it.

"You are the role model for youngsters, they watch you and your lifestyle and habits and try to adopt it. These advertisements attract the vulnerable population, especially, children and females very strategically and are directly and indirectly responsible for the increasing trends of tobacco use among youngsters and females in India.

"I humbly request you to not participate in pan masala or any other similar advertisements which are harming our society especially the younger generations. Rather, I request you to join us in anti-tobacco campaign to save lakhs of preventable deaths," Arora said in the letter.

According to experts, areca nuts, the main ingredient in pan masala, is in the league of caffeine, tobacco and alcohol when it comes to addictive properties and also lead to a high number of cases of submucous fibrosis, which can easily turn cancerous.

The Delhi government has already lodged FIRs against a few tobacco companies over surrogate tobacco advertisements.

The government, which is keen to making Delhi tobacco free, has also launched a series of initiatives including observing dry day for tobacco on the last day of every month and tobacco-free Delhi initiative in health, education, transport and police departments.

It regularly conducts various awareness and enforcement drives so that violations under Tobacco Control Act can be minimised.

The Delhi government has already banned sale, purchase and storage of chewable tobacco products but has not been able to implement it because of court cases filed by some tobacco manufacturers which are still pending. The next hearing in the case is scheduled for February 18.

According to data issued by the National Cancer Registry Programme of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), there are 1,300 cancer deaths daily and close to 5 lakh every year.

Tobacco use alone accounts for about 40 per cent of all cancers, 90 per cent of oral cancers and 30 per cent of tuberculosis in India.

About 275 million Indians (35 per cent of adult population and 14.1 per cent of children aged 13-15 years) are tobacco users, mainly smokeless tobacco, according to a paper by Paul E Goss of Harvard Medical School, Boston, and others.

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News Network
April 8,2020

Los Angeles, Apr 8: American folk legend John Prine has passed away due to the coronavirus complications. He was 73.

Prine, whose coronavirus diagnosis was revealed on March 17, died on Tuesday, his publicist told Variety.

His wife and manager, Fiona, had on April 3 posted on Twitter that Prine was severely ill after being admitted into intensive care unit of a hospital.

In a career spanning over half a century, Prine churned out heartfelt and unforgettable songs like Angel From Montgomery, Sweet Revenge and In Spite of Ourselves .

He was regarded as one of the greatest by many of his peers including Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Bruce Springsteen, Bette Midler and many other music legends.

Born on October 10, 1946 in Maywood, Illinois, the singer-songwritter emerged on the Chicago folk scene in the late 1960s, when he was discovered by country star Kris Kristofferson.

He is still remembered for his 1971 anti-war track Your Flag Decal Won't Get You Into Heaven Anymore , which came at the height of the Vietnam War and is still relevant to many till date.

In recent years, he had taken a step back from music but came back in 2018 with the album The Tree of Forgiveness . It was his first LP in 13 years.

Prine was a winner of two Grammy award for best contemporary folk albums -- The Missing Years (1991) and Fair & Square (2005). He was an inductee of the Songwriters Hall of Fame and also bestowed with Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

The news of his demise sent shockwaves across the music industry, with stars like Bruce Springsteen, Kacey Musgraves, Bonnie Raitt, Bette Midler and others paying their tributes to the legend.

Over here on E Street, we are crushed by the loss of John Prine. John and I were "New Dylans" together in the early 70s and he was never anything but the lovliest guy in the world. A true national treasure and a songwriter for the ages. We send our love and prayers to his family, Springsteen wrote in a post on Twitter.

While Musgraves posted, Heartbroken.

Raitt, who recorded Angel from Montgomery in the 1970s, said he is feeling crushed after learning about Prine's demise.

Words can't even come close. I'm crushed by the loss of my dear friend, John. My heart and love go out to Fiona and all the family. For all of us whose hearts are breaking, we will keep singing his songs and holding him near, he wrote.

Midler shared a news link about Prine, saying, He's gone.

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News Network
June 19,2020

Mumbai, Jun 19: Actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s memories will continue to be celebrated as Instagram has memorialised his account, adding “remembering” to his bio.

Rajput, 34, known for films like "Kai Po Che!", "MS Dhoni: The Untold Story", "Chhichhore", was found dead in his Bandra apartment on Sunday, sending shockwaves in the film industry and elsewhere.

Days after his untimely demise, Instagram added “remembering” to his account bio and memorialised it as a place to remember the actor’s life.

According to the photo-video sharing website, no one can log into a memorialised account. The posts the deceased person shared, including photos and videos, stay on their page and are visible to the users they were shared with.

Also, once the account is memorialised, no one will be able to make changes to any of the existing posts or information.

The actor’s last post on the social media platform was a tribute to his late mother on June 3.

Rajput’s death is being investigated by the Mumbai Police and so far statements of over 13 people, including actor’s family members and close friends, including actor Rhea Chakraborty and casting director Mukesh Chhabra, have been recorded.

The police have also sent a letter to Yash Raj Films seeking details of the contracts it had signed with him.

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News Network
May 30,2020

Mumbai, May 30: Actor Vaani Kapoor on Saturday said she will go on a virtual date with five people as part of an initiative to raise money for daily wage earners, who have been affected due to the nationwide lockdown implemented to rein in coronavirus.

Vaani has teamed up with actor Arjun Kapoor's sister Anshula Kapoor’s online fundraising platform, Fankind, to raise funds for daily wage workers.

Vaani and Fankind have come together to provide five of her fans a chance to go on a virtual date with her - by donating to provide food to daily wage workers.

“As human beings, we will need to come forward and support as many people as possible in need due to the coronavirus pandemic in our country. I’m doing my bit to support the daily wage earners of our country and their families who are in dire situations given the lockdown.

“My activity, in which five lucky winners can have a virtual date with me, will see us collect funds to help feed them and their families across the country," Vaani said in a statement.

Earlier, Arjun too supported the initiative to help daily wage earners.

According to the press release, the funds will go to GiveIndia, a non-profit organisation, which will provide hot cooked meals to wage earners and their families. Each meal costs Rs 30 and will be delivered in various areas of Maharashtra, Bangalore, and Chennai.

A.T.E. Chandra Foundation has also come on board and will be adding 25 percent of the total donation value collected as a matching amount, thereby multiplying the impact, the release said.

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