World Tobacco Day at Central mall

Population Services international (PSI), along with Hriday — Shan (Health Related Information Dissemination Amongst Youth - Student Health Action Network) have come together to spread awareness about the ill effects of Tobacco consumption on this World No Tobacco Day on May 31.

PSI will conduct an infotainment activity in the form of a street play conducted by trained artists at Bangalore Central Mall. Volunteers will interact with the audience and solicit feedback from them .

VS Chandrashekhar, senior programme advisor, PSI said, “Most people know that tobacco use is harmful but are unaware of the extent of damage including death, that can be caused by long-term tobacco use. In India, 9 lakh people die every year due to tobacco use. An estimated 57% of all men and 11% of all women in India use some form of tobacco. Through this initiative, we want to inform people about the dangers of tobacco use and to seek their support for appropriate and effective pictorial warnings on cigarette packs. We aim to spread this message among urban youth, who are most prone to begin the use of tobacco.”