Goverment kicks off campaign against bidis
July 28th, 2011 - 8:52 pm ICT by IANSNew Delhi, July 28 (IANS) The government Thursday launched a nationwide campaign through the mass media to make people aware of the ill-effects of smoking bidis, an official said.
Developed with technical support from NGO World Lung Foundation (WLF), the campaign consists of two public service announcements in 14 regional languages which will be aired on television and radio for a month, starting Aug 1.
“This is the first government sponsored campaign anywhere in the world that links bidi smoking to heart disease. As bidis are manufactured and consumed majorly in Asia, so we had to take the lead,” B.K. Prasad, joint secretary in the health ministry, said.
To deter youngsters from taking to smoking, he said revised notification on sale of tobacco in the vicinity of schools and colleges has been introduced, fixing accountability on the government as well as society.
“State police, teachers and principals, health inspectors and members of panchayats have all been assigned with the job of curbing tobacco sale to students,” said Keshav Desiraju, additional secretary of the health ministry.
Quoting the Central Tobacco Research Institute, officials said that by 2030, cultivation of cheaper tobacco used in bidis would be completely curbed while the more expensive one, used in cigarettes would be cut down by 50 percent.
But it was equally important to rehabilitate tobacco cultivators, said Desiraju.
- After cigarettes, health ministry targets other tobacco (Lead) - Apr 04, 2011
- After cigarettes, health ministry targets other tobacco - Apr 04, 2011
- After cigarettes, government to crack down on chewing tobacco use (Second Lead) - Apr 04, 2011
- Law on anti-tobacco warnings ignored in two states: Study - Feb 16, 2012
- Harsher pictorial warnings on tobacco packs from Dec 1 (Lead) - May 28, 2011
- Awareness drives focussing on women mark No Tobacco Day - May 31, 2010
- Inadequate, say health activists of new anti-tobacco warnings - Jun 01, 2011
- Present tobacco pictorial warnings unclear: Health ministry - Apr 04, 2011
- Dhaka urged to tighten anti-tobacco measures - Feb 27, 2012
- Harsher pictorial warnings on tobacco packs from Dec 1 - May 28, 2011
- NGO demands ban on sale of single cigarettes - Mar 04, 2011
- ''Jannat 2' ad showing Emraan smoking unlawful' - May 03, 2012
- Beware! Passive smoking riskier than you think (May 31 is World No Tobacco Day) - May 30, 2012
- Scary pictures not to dissuade Russian smokers: Poll - May 13, 2012
- Brazil bans smoking in public spaces - Dec 16, 2011
Tags: bidis, cultivators, effects of smoking, goverment, health inspectors, health ministry, heart disease, ill effects, institute officials, lung foundation, majorly, mass media, ngo world, public service announcements, regional languages, state police, take the lead, tobacco research institute, vicinity, youngsters