DU hosts campaign against tobacco

NEW DLEHI: The Delhi University (DU) on Friday buzzed with slogans against tobacco as students and teachers along with police officials and members of an NGO took out a campaign ahead of World No Tobacco Day.

Taking forward efforts to turn the university into a no-smoking zone, the campaign is the brainchild of the Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) in collaboration with the World Lung Foundation and the Delhi Police.

“It's a joint effort of the DU officials, DUSU, the World Lung Foundation and the Delhi Police. In the march today, officials of all these organisations, besides teachers and students of DU, participated,” DUSU president Amrita Bahari said.

Nearly 100 people participated in the march Friday which concluded with an oath against taking tobacco.

According to a study by Manhas, an NGO, 28 percent of the male students in DU were found to be smokers. Stress levels among smokers were found to be higher than among non-smokers.

Manhas, along with the Ministry of Family and Health Welfare and WHO, is conducting a tobacco free youth campaign which started May 25 and will conclude with the observance of the World No Tobacco Day on Saturday.

Talking about their effort to discourage students from smoking, Bahari said: “In February this year we declared DU a no-smoking zone. Anyone caught smoking thereafter has been fined heavily. This campaign is an extension of that effort”.

Last year, too, DU had organised a similar campaign to observe World No Tobacco Day.