Hurricane Ian struck the western tip of the island, left millions of Cubans without power and is headed towards Florida

The hurricane knocked out power across all of Cuba. Initially, there was loss of power in the western provinces, but later the entire grid collapsed. That meant nearly 11 million people were left without electricity. Hurricane Ian made landfall as a Category 3 storm and devastated Pinar del Rio province. That meant destruction of large numbers of the country's most important tobacco farms. The authorities had to arrange evacuation of tens of thousands of people as the disaster left behind damaged houses and floods. The US National Hurricane Center said Cuba suffered "significant wind and storm surge impacts." The hurricane had struck with top sustained winds of 125mph and it could gain strength as it moves over the Gulf of Mexico and nears the southwestern coast of Florida. Already orders are given for millions of people of Florida to leave. Hurricane Ian leaves 11 million in Cuba without electricity as it heads towards Florida. Warning is given to residents as well as holidaymakers to take precautions and not be complacent. This is because the hurricane could become a Category 4 storm, with wind speeds of 140mph across the whole state.

Deanne Criswell, spokeswoman for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), held an emergency briefing at the White House. She summed up the grim situation and said - “The storm surge is going to be significant, and you put 20 inches of rain on top of that…. We are talking about impacts in parts of Florida that haven't seen a major direct impact in nearly 100 years." Incidentally, Hurricane Ian is heading towards the Florida Keys. This is a popular holiday destination consisting several islands, some less than a mile wide. US President Joe Biden cancelled a planned trip and called mayors in three Florida cities to assure them federal support is ready to deploy food, fuel and shelter. FEMA has already set up 29 emergency community shelters. Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida, has declared a state of emergency and urged residents to be prepared. There are predictions of floods for much of the Florida peninsula midweek. This could lead to heavy rainfall for the southeast of the US later this week.

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WHO warns that eight million people will die from smokng by 2030

WHO has warned that the number of people who die from smoking is going to rise to a great extent in the coming years. At present, tobacco kills nearly six million people worldwide every year and, by 2030, this would increase to eight million.
The study also suggests that the global economy is losing at least $1tn every year because of the impact smoking has on productivity levels and health services. More than 80% of smoking deaths take place in low and middle-income countries - it is here that the number of smokers is on the rise.
This has been reported in news.sky.com dated 10 January 2017.

In the opinion of WHO, most governments are not using cheap and effective tools which can reduce tobacco use and save lives - a few examples are complete ban on tobacco marketing, prominent warning labels on cigarette packets and increasing the price.
Health experts believe that use of tobacco is a major health hazard and the single largest preventable cause of death worldwide.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

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Police zero in on illegal hookah bars in Ahmedabad

Police in Ahmedabad have intensified their drive against illegal hookah bars in the city. They have already taken up the task of cancelling licences of six hookah bars in Satellite and Anandnagar areas. This decision was taken because the hookah bars were not following the norms that have been laid down by the judiciary for running such establishments.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 27 November 2016.

The drive by the police was initiated a fortnight ago and has already covered over 20 hookah bars in various western city parts. Non-cognizable offences have been registered against the businesses. The police teams have collected samples from the bars and these have been sent for forensic examination.
As per the existing guidelines - hookah bars should not be more than 20% of the total area of the establishment. The establishment should have licence to run a restaurant or eatery. Moreover, there should be a separate area for smoking and the area should be under CCTV surveillance.
Many of the hookah bars were using tobacco that did not have statutory warning on the packets - this is required according to the rule.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org


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Maharashtra could soon have unpaid sweepers cleaning government offices

#SwatchhBharat #tobacco #spitting #maharashtra In keeping with the Swatchh Bharat campaign of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the initiative proposed to be taken by Maharashtra to ban tobacco chewing and spitting in public in order to ensure cleanliness is a laudable step. Chewing of tobacco can lead to cancer and spitting in public places carries with it the grave danger of spreading diseases.
Spitting in public places could lead to spread of communicable diseases such as tuberculosis.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 6 March 2015.
Under the proposal, if a person is caught not just spitting tobacco juice but even chewing it in a public place, he might have to become an unpaid government sweeper for a day – he would have to sweep for eight hours.
This is what the state health department is considering in the hope that such a stringent punishment against tobacco users would help to curb the habit.
Health Minister Deepak Sawant has indicated that if a person is found spitting from a luxury car, he would also not be spared - he should be made to clean a government office for a day. However, if a driver spits on the road, his license should be suspended for at least a month.
This proposal has, apparently, been forwarded to the state law and judiciary department for legal opinion.
Implementation is difficult because in Maharashtra every second person is addicted to tobacco and a situation could come when the government offices would be full of unpaid sweepers and there would not be enough places to clean.