Thousands of letters hold up legislation to curb tobacco use

Bulging sacks of letters gathering dust at India's Health Ministry are the latest obstacle to a push for tougher laws to curb smoking, as more than 100,000 unread messages from members of the public overwhelm officials and stall legislation.

With tobacco linked to up to 900,000 deaths a year in India, the government wants to raise the minimum smoking age to 21 from 18, and ban the sale of single cigarettes, which make up 70 percent of overall sales.

Before taking its proposals to Parliament, the government in January asked for public suggestions.