BJP lawmaker Dilip Kumar Gandhi, who is facing flak for claiming that there is little emprical evidence to link cigarettes to cancer, on Tuesday said he meant that a survey on the issue needs to be conducted in the country.
"There is no second opinion that tobacco is harmful. We need to conduct a survey in our own country, that's what I said. All our decisions come from surveys done in other countries. And those surveys are done keeping cigarettes in the forefront," Gandhi told ANI.
"Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh are dependent on beedi-making and tobacco production. We said cigarettes, beedi and chewing tobacco should be included in our survey. After survey reports come, then we can decide," he added.
His remarks had led to an outpouring of criticism from various quarters, including Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Supriya Sule, who said she herself will provide data to him.
Gandhi heads the parliamentary panel on subordinate legislation examining the provisions of Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2003.
The panel had earlier urged the government to hold back its proposal to increase the size of pictorial warnings on tobacco packets to 85 per cent from the current 40 per cent. It also cited an adverse impact on the livelihood of those who work in tobacco related industries.
As per reports, Gandhi had also written to Union Health Minister J P Nadda asking for the deferment of the implementation of the notification.