The city will be host to a musical show, a flash mob, and a signature campaign in the coming days, and will bring together celebrities, corporate houses and the youth to fight the menace of tobacco consumption.
The ministry of health and family welfare has tied up with the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Cancer Patients’ Aid Association (CPAA) to observe World No Tobacco Day on May 31, to do away with the misconception that smoking is “cool”.
A WHO survey states that 76% of all Indian films portray tobacco consumption, with some of the biggest names in Bollywood promoting the trend. Actor Vivek Oberoi, the ambassador for WHO’s anti-smoking movement, said that such images influence young fans to take up smoking.
“The main focus will be on creating awareness about the ill-effects of tobacco. We are also hoping to highlight and influence tobacco control activities as well as raise funds for cancer patients,” he added.
‘Tobacco Industry Interference’, this year’s theme, will focus on the tobacco industry’s “tactics to shape and influence tobacco control policy”.
“One of the main grouses we have against the tobacco industry is that it injects large philanthropic contribution into social programmes worldwide to create a positive public image under the guise of corporate social responsibility,” said Anita Peter, the director of CPAA.
Anti-tobacco activists synonymously agree that the tobacco industry’s advertising, marketing and promotion efforts influence smoking among adolescents, often to a greater extent than among adults.
The city will be host to a musical show, a flash mob, and a signature campaign in the coming days, and will bring together celebrities, corporate houses and the youth to fight the menace of tobacco consumption.
Activists hope that the campaign will attract the attention of the media and of policy makers who in turn can influence the need for regulation on tobacco product placement in films and advertisements.
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