The state health department of Tamil Nadu has decided to set up an empowered panel to implement the World Health Organisation’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), newspaper The Hindu reported.

The committee will reportedly be empowered to implement FCTC tobacco control measures in the form of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act 2003, and also to “deal with any kind of interference from the tobacco industry”, The Hindu said.
The committee will consist of secretaries from the government areas of state health, home, finance, commercial tax, registration and law.
The move was reportedly welcomed by the Tamil Nadu People’s Forum for Tobacco Control.