Youths pitch in for tobacco control

They demanded a removal of shops selling tobacco products within a radius of 100 metres of educational institutions and a check on surrogate advertisements of tobacco products.

City youths and members of a US delegation lit candles at Sardar Patel's statue on Saturday evening and submitted a memorandum to Governor TV Rajeswar, demanding effective implementation of the Cigarette and Other Tobacco Products Act 2003 in the city.

HT Image

The demands listed in the memorandum include the removal of shops selling tobacco products within a radius of 100 metres of educational institutions and a check on surrogate advertisements of tobacco products.

The memorandum also requests that tobacco users should be seen as victims. They should be provided opportunities to quit the habit and for this more tobacco cessation clinics should be ensured.

Earlier in the day, noted tobacco control advocate and coordinator of the Global Partnership for Tobacco Control Anna White delivered the coveted 10th Pandit PK Shankhdhar Memorial Oration for the year 2006 in the Department of Surgery, KGMU.

She exposed the true nature of the tobacco industry by telling stories about the industry in a dramatic and entertaining way.