One hundred cities in Sri Lanka have stopped selling cigarettes, according to a story in the Colombo Page relayed by the TMA.
Speaking before the 83rd Annual General Meeting of the Public Health Inspector’s Union of Sri Lanka on Sunday, the Minister of Health, Nutrition and Indigenous Medicine, Dr. Rajitha Senaratne, said about 100 cities in the country had stopped selling cigarettes, and that that number was expected to double during the next year.
It was not clear what was meant by a ‘city’, and it was unclear whether all the 100 cities had stopped selling cigarettes, had simply stopped promoting them or had taken some other actions.
The story said that Senaratne had asked cities [presumably city authorities and retailers] not to promote cigarettes and tobacco sales.
And Senaratne was quoted as saying that some cities had stopped selling tobacco products altogether.
Some cities were said to ‘advertise’ that they were entirely free of alcohol and cigarettes.
According to the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, Sri Lanka was the only country that had taken such measures, the story said.
Cigarette sales stopped
