Students campaign to stub out smoking in public

As part of its annual inter-collegiate festival Aavishkaar, students of Seth GS Medical College at KEM Hospital launched a signature campaign for a smoke-free campus on Wednesday.

The drive, which will be extended to the entire city, is being carried out by Smoke-free Mumbai campaign led by several NGOs, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and the Tata Memorial Hospital.

“The city needs to be aware about the ill-effects of smoking,” said Dr Surendra Shastri from Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital. “The youth should actively participate in the non-smokers’ fight to breathe clean air.”

With an aim of collecting at least 1 lakh signatures, the campaigners will petition the government to enforce serious action against people violating the rules by smoking in public places. The petition will also demand an increase in the fines charged from Rs200 to Rs500.

Dr Sanjay Oak, dean, KEM Hospital, said: “We felt that the annual youth festival was the right platform to send out a message to the citizens and youngsters for a smoke-free city.”

The students are creating awareness about the hazards of direct and passive smoking. Exposure to passive smoke can lead to lung cancer, asthma and heart disease.

A ban on smoking in public places was introduced on October 2, 2008. Over a year later, officials and NGOs say the law has worked in the city, some are of the view that a lot more needs to be done.