India: Rally Against Tobacco Abuse

Source from:  The Times of India 01/04/2016

The office of the Aurangabad civic surgeon organized a rally in the city on Friday to create awareness on the ill-effects of tobacco. The rally was organized under the national tobacco control programme.

Aurangabad civil surgeon J M Gaikwad told TOI that the state government is creating awareness on the topic in three districts in the state. "As a part of the national tobacco control programme, we have been asked to organize seminars and rallies between January 1 and 7 to educate the masses on ill-effects of tobacco," he said.

An NGO, two educational institutes and several social activists participated in the rally. About one hundred students, parents and activists covered a distance of about two kilometers between Roshan Gate and Madani Chowk.

The participants carried placards with messages to shun tobacco products and raised slogans urging the general public to stop consuming tobacco products to protect their health. The participants also distributed pamphlets on the way.

While flagging of the rally, Shivaji Kamble, senior police inspector of Jinsi police station urged youths not to fall prey to tobacco. "Despite the ban on some of the tobacco products, many youths consume tobacco in one or the other form. We need to create a conducive atmosphere in the society so that the young generation can to keep away from it," he said adding that the government alone cannot not fight for the cause.

Mohasin Ahmed, president of the NGO Janjagaran Samiti Maharashtra said many city youths are attracted to tobacco products. "Most of them are ignorant about its dark side. We want to reach out to such individuals and help them quit the habit of tobacco consumption," he said. Enditem