More than half of Bihar's population uses tobacco products

More than 50 per cent of the population of Bihar uses tobacco products leading to the loss of many lives every year, Bihar health minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey said on Friday.

"As much as 54 per cent of people in Bihar use tobacco products and a large number of them die every year," Choubey said while addressing a workshop on tobacco.

Almost 2,200 people using tobacco products die everyday in India, he said, adding "An estimated 40 out of 100 patients are afflicted with cancer following tobacco use".

Choubey said he would ask the medical officers to strictly ban use of 'gutkha', 'bidi' and other tobacco products outside the hospitals across the state.

The minister also called for for simplification of the Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution Act (COTPA) 2003, on cigarettes and other tobacco products.