WORLD NO TOBACCO DAY-2012(MAY-31)

WORLD NO TOBACCO DAY-2012

(MAY-31)

World No Tobacco Day is observed around the world every year on May 31. It is meant to encourage a 24-hour period of abstinence from all forms of TOBACCO consumption across the globe. The day is further intended to draw global attention to the widespread prevalence of tobacco use and to negative health effects, which currently lead to 5.4 million deaths worldwide annually. The member states of the World Health Organization (WHO) created World No Tobacco Day in 1987. In the past twenty years, the day has been met with both enthusiasm and resistance across the globe from governments, public health organizations, smokers, growers, and the tobacco industry. Each year, the WHO selects a theme for the day in order to create a more unified global message for WNTD. This theme then becomes the central component of the WHO’s tobacco-related agenda for the following year. The WHO oversees the creation and distribution of publicity materials related to the theme, including brochures, fliers, posters, websites, and press releases In 2008 for the theme Tobacco-free youth.

In many of its WNTD themes and related publicity-materials, the WHO emphasizes the idea of “truth.” Theme titles such as “Tobacco kills, don’t be duped” (2000) and “Tobacco: deadly in any form or disguise” (2006) indicate a WHO belief that individuals may be misled or confused about the true nature of tobacco; the rationale for the 2000 and 2008 WNTD themes identify the marketing strategies and “illusions” created by the tobacco industry as a primary source of this confusion. The WHO’s WNTD materials present an alternate understanding of the “facts” as seen from a global public health perspective. WNTD publicity materials provide an “official” interpretation of the most up-to-date tobacco-related research and statistics and provide a common ground from which to formulate anti-tobacco arguments around the world.

The objective of observing World No Tobacco Day is to reduce tobacco consumption which can lead to deadly diseases like cancer and early death. Individuals, non-profit organizations and public health organizations actively participate in making this day a success by distributing placards and displaying posters with the latest information on the ill-effects of consuming tobacco and smoking. World No Tobacco Day primarily focuses on encouraging users to refrain from tobacco consumption and its related products for a period of at least 24 hours. World No Tobacco Day was first observed in 1987, after a cabinet of the WHA (World Health Assembly) passed a motion supported by the WHO, with guidelines to manage and curb tobacco consumption. No Tobacco Day also aims to keep a watch on companies that sell cigarettes and other tobacco products through striking advertisements which influence people to consume their product. To propel its cause and appeal globally, WHA selects a fresh theme every year. The theme of World No Tobacco Day 2011 was ‘WHO Framework Convention No Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC)’ that was formed after much observation and in response to the growing tobacco usage.

On No-Tobacco Day the attempt is to draw public and government attention on the need to take effective measures to prevent tobacco consumption which contaminates the air we live in. So, if your dream is to live in a pollution-free environment, then Anti- Tobacco Day 2012 is the right time to express your support to help create a safe and healthy environment for future generations. In India, World No Tobacco Day is observed with fervour. The government, individuals and public health organisations organize health camps and rallies to create a tobacco-free society.

Does smoking on screen harm youth? Some feel depicting actors smoking in films and TV shows can affect young, impressionable minds, but others do not agree with this. ”Youth consider celebrities as role models and when they see actors smoking on the screen, it affects them more. If a youth does not start smoking before the age of 22, he doesn’t get into it,” Anita Peter, director of the Cancer Patients Aid Association (CPAA), told IANS.A statutory warning on a cigarette pack or running a statutory warning during smoking scenes in films is not enough, says Karan Malhotra, director of “Agneepath”. ”Just by putting a sticker of ‘Smoking Kills’ on a product is not good enough. Besides, I think it’s futile (to put a statutory warning). It is not required. It will not do anything good or bad for a smoker. It just doesn’t make any sense,” Malhotra told IANS.Tobacco use is estimated to have caused nearly 120,000 deaths across India in 2010, according to research carried out by the Toronto-based Centre for Global Health Research (CGHR) in partnership with Mumbai’s Tata Memorial Hospital. If psychiatrist Samir Parikh is to be believed, smoking on screen can affect young minds.“It is a statistically established fact that observational learning plays a very important role in the growing up years of children. So there are no two ways that smoking on screen influences children to try it,” said Parikh, director, Mental Health and Behavioural Sciences, Fortis Healthcare.“If they hero-worship an actor and if the actor is shown smoking, it increases the chances that youngsters will do the same. The entertainment industry needs to impose self-censorship about what to show and what not to show.
“They can reduce the number of smoking scenes unless it is very essential to show it. And on their part, they should, without the pressure of any outside body, spread awareness about the negative effects of activities like smoking,” he added. Filmmaker Sriram Raghavan agrees that “smoking is bad” in real life but doesn’t support the idea of banning it in movies.“In movies, it is fine. This is what I feel. I am not for a ban on smoking scenes in films. It depends on the character. I won’t make a character smoke a cigarette just because it looks cool,” said the director, known for films like “Johnny Gaddar” and “Karthik Calling Karthik”.Musician Loy Mendonsa of composer trio Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy understands “it is difficult to get off tobacco once you are used to it and it’s a good thing to be healthy” but dismisses the argument that Bollywood motivates youngsters to smoke. Tobacco is one of the worst kinds of addiction, feels actor Ashmit Patel and adds that it should “be in the list of scheduled drugs”.“I support an anti-tobacco NGO called Salaam Bombay Foundation and even ran a marathon for them this year,” said Ashmit, who has smoked on screen, but says he will always make sure his characters never glorify smoking. Tobacco is one of the worst kinds of addiction, feels actor Ashmit Patel and adds that it should “be in the list of scheduled drugs”.

Prof. John Kurakar