Bengaluru: In an effort to create awareness about health risks associated with tobacco use, a series of events were organized in the city on Friday to mark World No Tobacco Day.
Narayana Health City in association with Consortium for Tobacco-Free Karnataka (CFTFK) conducted a series of panel discussions. The event saw deliberation on how children are becoming vulnerable to tobacco addiction, calling for greater awareness and efforts to curb the usage of tobacco.
Addressing the gathering Dr Devi Prasad Shetty, Chairman and Founder, Narayana Health, said, “I do deal with a large number of patients who are victims of smoking. One of the root causes of a heart attack in India is smoking. Majority of patients who undergo by-pass grafting are smokers. It’s not the old retired people who develop heart attack, but the young breadwinners of the family. And one thing very unique about most of them is that they all started smoking at a young age, virtually from the school days. So I am glad that we are making an effort to educate the younger generation about the ill-effects of smoking.”
State Health Department along with State Tobacco Control Cell also organized key activities such as Tobacco Free Public Transport, Social Media Campaign, street play followed by Signature Campaign and IEC campaign.
In a bid to create awareness on World No Tobacco Day, Indian Medical Association (IMA) under the banner of IMA tobacco Control Project regional workshops PAN India in all the IMA Branches for training the trainers.
The aim of the workshop was to sensitize IMA leaders, members and inform them about the epidemiology, the impact, the need for and the methodology for Tobacco Control. The participants were informed about the health hazards and quitting methods. The implementation of Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act was also discussed.
As part of No Tobacco Day, KSRTC held an event at Majestic Bus station, where water was poured on the tobacco products seized at the bus station. KSRTC Director Dr P.S. Harsha and other senior officials took part.
KSRTC has prohibited smoking on bus stand premises and have been conducting drives against smokers.
