Over 100 towns in Sri Lanka stop cigarette sales

Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-22 17:09:39|Editor: xuxin
Video PlayerClose

COLOMBO, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Over 100 towns across Sri Lanka have boycotted the sale of cigarettes with an aim to discourage smoking and making Sri Lanka a tobacco-free nation, the Health Ministry said here on Wednesday.

According to the Ministry, the Public Health Inspectors (PHIs) Union have launched several programs across the country to educate locals on the ill effects of smoking and as a result, shop owners and businessmen from many towns have stopped selling cigarettes.

To date, 22 towns in Jaffna, in the former war-torn north, 17 towns in Matara, in the island's south and 16 towns in Kurunegala, in northwestern Sri Lanka do not sell cigarettes, leading to a total 107 towns boycotting cigarette sales.

Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne, while expressing satisfaction over the numbers, said they hope to increase these figures to 200 next year.

The Sri Lankan government in recent years have taken several steps to discourage smoking and the sale of cigarettes around the island.

Some of these steps include increasing the tax on tobacco up to 90 percent, increasing the pictorial warning on the cigarette pack by 80 percent, banning the sale of cigarettes around a radius of 100 meters from a school and banning smoking in public places.

The government also aims to ban tobacco cultivation by 2020.

TOP STORIES
EDITOR’S CHOICE
MOST VIEWED
EXPLORE XINHUANET
010020070750000000000000011100001374102791
国产无码在线观看免费在线,37pao国产成视频,日韩一区二区视频在线,国产国产人免费人成免费视频麻豆
先锋资源视频在线资源 | 亚洲欧美精品在线精品二区 | 亚洲精品911永久在线观看 | 中文免费不卡Av | 中文字暮人成乱码熟女 | 在线观看激情AV更新 |