BAMS doctor suspended for making 5-year-old to smoke as cold remedy

Lucknow: Nearly a month after a video of a BAMS doctor went viral for encouraging and forcing a 5-year-old boy to smoke cigarette to cure his cold, the State Health Department suspended him from his position at the Community Health Centre (CHC) in Kuthaund.  

Apart from this, a chargesheet will be filed and disciplinary action will be taken against the doctor, as directed by Deputy Chief Minister and Health Minister Brajesh Pathak, who confirmed his suspension on Tuesday.

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Medical Dialogues in April reported that a BAMS doctor posted at the Community Health Centre in Kuthaund was caught on camera encouraging and forcing a 5-year-old boy to smoke cigarettes, claiming it would cure his cold and cough. The video quickly went viral on social media, following which the doctor was transferred to the district headquarters as part of his disciplinary action.

The 5-year-old child was brought to the CHC by his parents for treatment of a cold. Shockingly, in their presence, the doctor made the boy smoke a cigarette and even asked his parents to let him smoke as it would clear the cough buildup in his chest.

The parents, without even questioning the doctor's unconventional and dangerous technique, told the doctor that they live in a remote area where cigarettes are not available, and therefore, they took one cigarette for their child from the doctor at Rs 100.

Instead of prescribing medication or administering injections, the doctor placed a cigarette in the boy’s mouth and even demonstrated how to smoke it, forcing the child to inhale nicotine. Taking action against the serious act of gross negligence, the state government transferred the doctor to the district headquarters and ordered a probe against him. 

Following this, the doctor was found guilty, and Brajesh Pathak ordered his suspension. 

A government spokesperson told TOI, "Dr Suresh Chandra, a medical officer posted at PHC Kuthond in Jalaun district, was found guilty of behaving inappropriately, using abusive language, and above all, teaching a five-year-old child to smoke. He was found guilty by the committee that probed the allegations against him. Dr Chandra's video went viral on April 7, following which the probe was ordered."

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