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Since
1988 31st May has been observed annually as the World
No Tobacco Day
and is the only global event established to call attention
to tobacco use on public health and reduce individual tobacco-dependence.
There is a strong social
and cultural influence that entices young people into becoming smokers.
Tobacco manufacturers make liberal use of lifestyle advertising, sports
sponsorship and popular role models to convey the message that smoking is
‘cool’. In spite of the clear, unambiguous evidence accumulated on the
damage that tobacco causes, a large proportion of policy makers are still
unconvinced about the need to control tobacco advertising.
The developed countries
have been cracking down on tobacco companies and have been passing
increasingly strict legislation on what they can do, both by way of
product formulation and by way of advertising. Laws are coming into force
to block tobacco advertising. In 1997, the European Parliament approved a
Directive banning all forms of tobacco publicity, promotion and event
sponsorship. The Directive set a timetable for elimination of advertising
and sponsorship, with a special provision for international sporting
events currently funded by the tobacco industry. These must be phased out
by 2006. Sale of cigarettes to those below 18 is already prohibited in
most developed countries. As they see their markets in the west shrink,
major tobacco companies are now setting their sights on developing
countries, where legislation is not as stringent. In general, advertising
control is extremely lax. Only a voluntary code to regulate advertising by
the tobacco industry has come through so far. Coming into effect from
October 1st, 1998, it attempts to ban public personalities from endorsing
tobacco products and disallows ads that attribute a better life to the
intake of tobacco. The code also seeks to clamp down on surrogate ads,
like cricket gear. Unfortunately, the code has proved ineffective, as the
organisation that drafted it, the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI),
is a self regulatory body with no powers to enforce the code by punishing
offenders.
In spite of protests by
health activists, hoardings have become larger and larger, while statutory
warnings remain their original size and are painted in the same colour as
the background, which make them almost invisible. In the West, tobacco is
consumed largely in the form of cigarettes, cigars and pipes. In India,
however, there are a number of additional forms in which tobacco is
consumed, for example, gutkha, pan masala, masheri, snuff and tobacco
toothpaste. Still, some headway is being made. This year, the Kerala High
Court banned smoking in all public places in the state and directed the
district administration to enforce the order with immediate effect. In a
major breakthrough, tobacco ads have been banned in all public places in
Delhi. In 1990, the Indian government issued an executive order
prohibiting smoking in all health care establishments, government offices,
educational institutions, air-conditioned railway cars, chair cars, buses
and domestic passenger flights. Indian Airlines has also banned smoking on
its international flights to UK, Europe and America. Recently, in some
states smoking within 100 metres of educational institutions has been
prohibited. However enforcement of these laws leaves much to be desired.
There is clearly a need for health information, which can lead to
ant-tobacco social norms and attitudes, anti-tobacco policies and
non-smoking among a higher proportion of the public.
CPAA is working towards
this end in a number of ways. World No-Tobacco Day is commemorated every
year in the form of lectures, camps and rallies all over the
country.
Statistics show that every year 8,00,000 new
cancer cases are registered - 3,20,000 of which are suffering from Head
and Neck cancers largely attributed to tobacco habits. While, tobacco
claims about 4.9 million deaths annually globally, an alarming 1 million
of them are from India. Every year on this day we try to create awareness
about this emerging epidemic by highlighting the ill-effects of tobacco
consumption via
hoardings, banners, posters, advertisements and various other programs
along-with raising funds for the
already affected cancer patients and their families.
Year after year the World
Health Organisation (WHO) and Ministry of Health and Family Welfare have
supported our programs to fight the battle against tobacco and the
emerging epidemic…cancer. In conjunction with the various programs, we
also organise free ENT - Cancer screening camp all over the city at
various sites for the general public.
From recent reports it is
evident that the programmes need to cater to a new group, children and
young adults. There is a frightening increase in tobacco consumption
trends in this age group and relentless targeting of these youngsters by
tobacco companies and advertising agencies has resulted in their being
duped into making uninformed choices. Young adults have been reached with
the help of the National Social Service (NSS) Programme Officers Training
Project of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS). Programmes are
held at colleges all over Mumbai. Regular awareness and screening
programmes are also being held for street children and children of
commercial sex workers. Our Early Detection and
Awareness lectures regularly cover the dangers associated with tobacco
abuse. We reach out to smokeless tobacco users via the Anti-Gutkha
Campaign. In a major initiative, a number of schools are being visited
during the current academic year to talk about tobacco abuse in general
and gutkha abuse in particular.
World No Tobacco Day
Report
Year : 2003 | 2004 |
2005 | 2006 | 2007
| 2009 | 2010 | Event
archive
Would you like to make a
contribution towards CPAA’s World No Tobacco Day activities?
Organise an Awareness
Lecture / Camp | Donate for World No Tobacco Day
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Rose
Day, held on September 22nd every year, is our way of showing
cancer patients that we care. 
The
fight against cancer is arduous, painful and depressing. Time and again
our social workers attempt to bring some cheer into patients’ lives by arranging
picnics, field trips, Christmas parties, Diwali Melas, New Year parties,
concerts....in short a FUN DAY for the patients.
Give a child crayons and paper and they will create
a multicolored flower or sunrise or rainbow using every last colour available in
the box. But not children with leukemia. Time after time, during the play group
CPAA runs for children suffering from cancer, when we put a paint brush in their
hands, they choose the browns, the greys and the blacks reflecting the
atmosphere, the tension, the pain they and their family go through. Their
situation is doubly tragic because they often suffer from conditions which could
be treated and cured....if only they received proper treatment. Treatment which
unfortunately, is expensive and prolonged.