Boycott of smoking in more than 100 cities of Sri Lanka

Colombo (Bureau) - Making big efforts in making Sri Lanka tobacco-free, more than 100 cities in the country have stopped selling cigarettes. The Health Ministry operated awareness programs about cigarette damage across the country. After this, many city shopkeepers and businessmen decided to boycott the sale. According to a news agency, 107 cities of the country have currently become part of this campaign. Health Minister Ranjita Senaratne said that the number of these cities would be 200 in 2019. It may be recalled that the Sri Lankan government has taken several steps to curb tobacco products in the country. With maximum taxation of 90 percent tax on tobacco, 80 percent of the cigarette packet has been directed to print warning images. Smoking has been banned in public places. Along with this, the sale of the school has been restricted to 100 meters. The Shilanka government is also considering ban on tobacco production by 2020.