IMA has consulted lawyers and modalities for filing the PIL are being finalised, Dr Chander Prakash, secretary of IMA Academy of Medical Specialities, told newsmen here on Friday.

A drug, as defined by the Drugs and Cosmetics Act of India, is any substance other than food that causes change in the functioning of the body.

As a total ban on tobacco products was impossible, IMA wanted the government to regulate the sale of tobacco products, he said. Tobacco product packs should carry messages in different languages mentioning ill effects of tobacco.

Once tobacco came under the drugs category, IMA would campaign for including it in the "dangerous drugs" category. Even cultivation of drugs like cocaine is strictly regulated, Prakash said, adding tobacco companies should be sued by lungcancer patients with the help of non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

Political lobbying and money power of tobacco companies were the major bottlenecks in initiating such a measure, he said, adding sponsoring of events by tobacco companies should be stopped first.

He said the railway ban on the sale of cigarettes and bidis on platforms and trains should also include other tobacco products like "gutka".

Tobacco should be labelled as an addictive drug, Alan Landers, who formerly modelled as the "Winston man" to promote RJ Reynolds tobacco products, said.

Landers, who quit smoking and modelling for tobacco after surviving lung cancer and a bypass heart surgery, said nicotine content in cigarettes could be lowered resulting in lesser health hazards if tobacco came under the "addictive drugs" category.

The warning on cigarette packets should tell that cigarettes cause lung cancer and heart problems, he said.

Tobacco companies spend six billion US dollars annually to promote their products, butregarding adverse health effects, they put the blame on the users, a now wiser Landers told newsmen.

Tobacco should not be made freely available in shops and aspiring smokers should be dissuaded, Prakash said.

Strict penalty should be imposed on people selling tobacco products to children, Landers added.