Bitter truth
Sir — Tea and coffee lovers rarely need a reason to sip their favourite beverages but science may just have given them a handy excuse. A study has found that moderate amounts of caffeine intake — defined as about three cups of coffee or tea a day — are associated with a lower risk of developing cardiometabolic multimorbidity. Those reaching for the coffee tin or the tea leaves should, however, pause for thought — this study, as well as earlier ones, extols the values of caffeine. But what of the additional sugar, milk, cream, honey and other additives added to coffee and tea? Not many will be eager to drink tea or coffee if these are taken away from the brews.
Sneha Dutta, Calcutta
Protective move
Sir — The Supreme Court has overturned a Madras High Court ruling and has stated that storing and viewing child pornography are punishable offences under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act and the Information Technology Act (“Crime tag on viewing child porn”, Sept 24). The court also recommended replacing the term, “child pornography”, with “child sexual exploitative and abuse material”, marking a significant legal precedent in addressing such crimes. However, law enforcement authorities must ensure unbiased investigations before charging anyone under the POCSO Act as online scams have become rampant and device-hacking or clicking on web pages can result in the downloading of files without users’ consent.
Furthermore, studies have indicated that a large number of sexual crimes are committed by people who regularly consume pornographic material. It is, therefore, wise to ban several types of pornographic content that promote violence. The government should address the root of the problem.
Debjit Dutta, Calcutta
Sir — The Supreme Court’s ruling regarding criminalising the consumption of child pornographic material, which it has called “child sexual exploitative and abuse material”, reaffirms the need to protect children’s rights. Indeed, CSEAM dehumanises children. Forcing children to perform sexual activity is traumatic and the voyeuristic viewers of such videos should be held responsible for the dissemination of the same. One hopes that this verdict will lessen the distribution and the consumption of such material and will protect the children from the porn industry.
G. David Milton, Maruthancode, Tamil Nadu
Sir — The apex court’s verdict that possession, downloading, distribution or watching of child porn material would be a punishable offence under the POCSO Act and the IT Act is laudable. In fact, it is concerning that the Madras High Court had earlier ruled that consuming such videos would not be punishable. Courts must exercise more caution regarding understanding the severity of crimes and aim to reduce their recurrence through strict punishments.
M.C. Vijay Shankar, Chennai
Sir — A 200-page-long judgment by a three-judge bench, including the Chief Justice of India, D.Y. Chandrachud, and the justices, J.B. Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, provides detailed suggestions and recommendations to the government for introducing more provisions into the POCSO Act to protect children from sexual abuse and the pornography industry. This is a welcome move. The government should adopt the court’s suggestions and widen the scope of the POCSO Act.
Manas Mukhopadhyay, Hooghly
Help at hand
Sir — India has pledged to provide cervical cancer diagnostic kits and vaccines to the Indo-Pacific region (“India pledges vaccines against cervical cancer”, Sept 23). Currently, the only effective vaccine against cancer is the human papillomavirus vaccine, which is used to prevent certain types of cancer in women. Unfortunately, despite being introduced in India in 2008, the HPV vaccine has not yet been included in the country’s universal immunisation programme. India reports approximately one lakh new cases and about 75,000 deaths from cervical cancer each year. There is limited awareness about the vaccine. The Indian government should enhance awareness through campaigns to address concerns regarding the safety and the effectiveness of HPV vaccines along with providing these at low cost to ensure greater affordability.
Kiran Agarwal, Calcutta
Sir — India’s offer of $7.5 million for the Quad Cancer Moonshot initiative, which supports cancer treatments in Indo-Pacific countries, is laudable. Sudha Murty, a newly-nominated member of the Rajya Sabha, had requested the government to provide Indian women with the cervical cancer vaccine. The Centre should fulfil this demand.
Gopalaswamy J., Chennai
Delicious gift
Sir — The interim government in Bangladesh has decided to export 3,000 tonnes of hilsa from the Padma river to West Bengal for the festive season (“Puja gift: Dhaka lifts ilish ban”, Sept 22). The Bangladesh government must be thanked for this decision. One hopes the fish will become more affordable after the export.
Sourish Misra, Calcutta
