Call it a throwback to his activist days when Anbumani Ramadoss and his NGO went about agitating against smokers, altering posters that showed actors in huge cutouts smoking down to the passers-by. The band of Pasumai Thayagam (an NGO which means Green Motherland) planted trees, and sliced cutouts of seven-feet-long cigarettes on the Marina beach on May 31 (Anti-Tobacco Day).The youngest doctor-minister in the Manmohan Singh Cabinet, has since resigned as president of the NGO after taking over reins of the Health Ministry but has lost none of his spark. It is learnt among the various measures Ramadoss wishes to undertake to ensure clean air for all, he is seeking Speaker Somnath Chatterjee’s help to ban smoking in the Central Hall of Parliament.Whether the ban gets the Speaker’s nod or not, committed chainsmokers like RSP leader Abani Roy, say it will ‘‘hugely upset’’ smokers. ‘‘I have been a smoker for a long time and it is not just smoking but an accompaniment in any intellectual exercise,’’ says Roy. Roy promises he will adjust in the event of a ban on smoking in Central Hall. CPI(M)’s Nilotpal Basu too says he will stop if there is a rule to the effect. ‘‘We will follow the rules,’’ says Basu.Keen to see his proposals accepted and upset over actor Shah Rukh Khan smoking while waiting for Congress chief Sonia Gandhi on Anti-Tobacco Day, Ramadoss says actors should not smoke in public places.So much so that the actor, who Ramadoss says has been identified in a WHO report, along with southern star Rajnikant, as smokers who leave an indelible impact on young boys, should stop smoking in public. ‘‘The report among other things also says young people follow and ape actors. I wrote to Rajnikant asking him to stop smoking and after consultations with my officials I hope to launch a campaign to stop other actors from smoking,’’ says Ramadoss. He also wishes to implement are to project people like Sachin Tendulkar (a non-smoker) as role models for the youth.The Minister says he has written to chief secretaries of states asking to enforce the ban on smoking in public places. ‘‘I have requested them to enforce the law through officers of the rank of sub-inspectors,’’ says Ramadoss adding in some instances the exercise has paid off. ‘‘AVM production house in Tamil Nadu assured me that they will not allow smoking on screen,’’ says Ramadoss hoping the habit will catch on in the rest of India.In the meantime, while he cannot hit the streets in protest, Ramadoss says he doesn’t miss an opportunity to plant trees where he can. ‘‘I even planted trees in Mumbai when I was recently there,’’ he says. And for the moment, topmost on his agenda is improving health in rural India; helping senior citizens get better healthcare and focus on eradicating polio by year-end.
