Long haul of tobacco war

Regular moviegoers would have noticed that ever since the health ministry has made it mandatory to show tobacco-related health warnings at the beginning of movies that depict tobacco use, smoking scenes in movies seem to have gone up. This is particularly true in the case of youth-oriented movies.

Smoking scenes in movies is not a trivial issue because movies are the last window open to tobacco industry where it can showcase its products.

One can argue that tobacco brands shown in movies are hardly visible so how does it help the industry. The answer to this question lies in a secret memo written by public relations firm, Rogers and Cowan, in 1982 which I stumbled upon while researching through archives of the famous tobacco industry papers. THE memo, written by the PR agency of R J Reynolds, reveals how Hollywood movie scripts and television shows were systematically previewed to explore where smoking scenes can be inserted. For instance, Reynolds paid $10,000 to producers of Sean Connery-starring "Never Say Never Again" to place its Camel brand of cigarettes in the movie.

In several scenes of "Monsignor", Christopher Reeve is shown smoking. "No brand identification was possible but the concept of socially acceptable enjoyment of cigarette smoking was fulfilled", the memo notes.

It also gives a list of movie and television stars "who get their monthly mailings of their favourite R J Reynolds brand".

No such clinching evidence is available to conclude that what was happening in Hollywood in 1980s is happening with Bollywood in 2010s. But at the rate products are being placed in our movies, growing depiction of smoking scenes does raise some serious doubts.

It was precisely this kind of insidious tactics of tobacco industry that director general of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Dr Margaret Chan warned against when she was in the capital last week to attend the tobacco endgame conference. WHO has adopted a target of 30 per cent relative reduction in tobacco use prevalence by 2025 - first major step towards its eradication. This task is not going to be easy because the tobacco industry is bound to launch "well-orchestrated, well-funded and aggressive resistance" at every step, Chan warned. Intense lobbying being seen in Europe to delay or block passage of a strong European Union directive on tobacco is an example.

Closer home, political lobbies have constantly opposed higher taxation for bidis and smokeless tobacco which account for most tobacco consumption in the country. Thirty three states have banned gutkha, but it is more a result of a Supreme Court directive than a result of strong political will. India has done well but it needs to do much more in tobacco control so that tobacco endgame could actually begin.

Will cricket icon Rahul Dravid -in his new avatar as brand ambassador for tobacco control - be able to reach out to the youth and undo the damage smoking scenes in Bollywood are causing?

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A twist to Indo-Syrian ties

India's decision not to support military action in Syria may be based on sound geopolitical considerations, but if results of a new study are to be believed the two countries are tied through ancient genetic affinity as well.

The study - based on analysis of DNA extracted from some well-preserved skeletons excavated from Syria - has suggested a possible genetic link between the Mesopotamia region with the Indian subcontinent. The question of the origin of people inhabiting ancient Mesopotamia has been debated for long. A group of Polish researchers led by Henryk Witas could isolate the DNA from skeletal remains to give them information about maternal ancestry of the Mesopotamians. "The comparison of this DNA with the available information revealed their connection with South Asians and suggests an ancient continuity between Indian subcontinent and Mesopotamia until 1500 years ago,"explains Dr Gyaneshwer Chaubey, coauthor of the study published in journal PLOS ONE.

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A PILOTstudy shows that comprehensive lifestyle changes may increase the length of telomeres-the ends of chromosomes that control cell ageing. The study, published in The Lancet Oncology, shows that it is possible to lengthen telomeres over time with suitable interventions. If the findings are confirmed by larger studies, scientists will begin to have a better understanding of how lifestyle changes may have the potential to reverse ageing on a cellular level.

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Busting epileptic myths

Even though epilepsy is the most common neurological disorder, there are many myths associated with it. Because of these myths, people in villages and even in cities tend to take epilepsy patients to quacks. The fact is most cases of epilepsy can be easily diagnosed and effectively managed. To drive home this point, Dr Vijaya Nath Mishra, head of the neurology department at the Banaras Hindu University decided to produce a movie. Instead of making a documentary on the subject, Mishra has used fiction format to bust myths around it and show how it can be managed. The story of 'Ek Naya Din' revolves around a middle class family of Varanasi in which a girl experiences seizures at the age of six. "The film has received good response and we plan to take it to schools, universities and rural areas" says Mishra.