'Mathata Thitha concept has won world-wide acclaim'
Nadira Gunatilleke
The National Tobacco and Alcohol Act No. 27 of 2006, President
Mahinda Rajapaksa's Mathata Thitha (Full stop to tobacco and alcohol)
and all programmes implemented under the same won world-wide
recognition. Many foreign delegations are visiting Sri Lanka to study
the Act and programmes, Health Ministry Media Coordinator
W.M.D.Wanninayake said.
According to Wanninayake, a 19 member delegation from Vietnam is in
Sri Lanka to study the Act and programme on controlling tobacco and
alcohol.
The delegation consists of legal officers, doctors and state
officials. They have studied the legal framework of Sri Lanka on tobacco
and alcohol control and decided to apply something similar in Vietnam to
control the excessive use of tobacco and alcohol. Sri Lanka has been the
first country in the Asian region and the fourth country in the world
which signed the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC).
Sri Lanka has achieved a significant success in controlling tobacco,
alcohol and other dangerous drugs.
Smoking in public places has been prohibited in Sri Lanka, he said.
Vietnam has been severely affected by the use of tobacco and alcohol.
Even school children smoke while studying in classrooms. Public sector
employees use tobacco and alcohol during office hours.
The Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs) in Vietnam, have gone up due to
excessive use of tobacco and alcohol. The literacy rate in Vietnam is
lower than in Sri Lanka.
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