Kolkata: Union Health Minister Shatrughan Sinha on November 8 said the Centre would soon introduce an anti-tobacco Bill in Parliament to further its campaign against the addictive to prevent cancer.

"An anti-tobacco Bill will be placed in Parliament soon. Once it is passed, steps will be taken for strict monitoring to ensure proper implementation of the Law," Sinha told reporters.

Some of the states, he said, have already imposed ban on public smoking, but "lack of implementation has defeated the purpose".

Launching a tirade against the tobacco lobby, Sinha said, "We need to launch a massive public campaign to sensitise people about the impact of tobacco consumption on their family and the socio-economic condition of the country as a whole."

However, the government could not do much in the absence of a legal tool banning all forms of tobacco consumption, he said. "I cannot stop it just by saying so. Unless there is a Legislation and strict implementation of that Law, we cannot achieve much."

Earlier, speaking at the foundation stone-laying ceremony for the second campus of Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute, the Union Minister said there was about 2.5- 3 million cancer patients in the country with 0.8 million being added every year.

Three lakh deaths from cancer are reported per annum.

"Fifty per cent of male cancer patients and 25 per cent of female ones suffer from tobacco-related cancer," he said.

PTI