Cyclothon organized on World No Tobacco Day; Demand to strengthen tobacco control law

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: On the occasion of World No Tobacco Day, Consumers’ Legal Protection Forum, Assam, in collaboration with State Tobacco Control Cell, Directorate of Health Services, Government of Assam, Consumer VOICE, Delhi and Guwahati Cycling Community organized a cyclothon in Guwahati on Tuesday morning on the theme of ‘Strengthen Tobacco Control Law to Save Lives’.

More than 200 students, sportspersons, doctors, lawyers, social activists, journalists and government officials participated the cyclothon. The cyclothon started from Veterinary College Field, Khanapara and cyclists went up to Ulubari and again come back to Khanapara. Abhinash Joshi, Principal Secretary, Health & Family Welfare Department, Government of Assam, in his inaugural speech said, “It is alarming that children and teens are lured towards tobacco addiction. This is dangerous. Strict implementation of tobacco control law to save our children from tobacco addiction is an immediate task. It is need of the hour to save our younger generation from deadly tobacco.”

The cyclists created awareness among people and appealed to the Government of India to strengthen the tobacco control law in the upcoming session of Parliament. They displayed placards with slogans to strengthen tobacco control law. They also urged to remove the designated smoking areas to make India 100 percent smoke-free.

Nearly 50% of all cancers in India are due to tobacco. Smoking worsens lung function and reduces immunity. The nationwide survey of students revealed that nearly one-fifth of students aged 13-15 years are using tobacco products in India. In Assam, children are falling in trap of tobacco menace and about 12 percent of students consume tobacco in any form. Advocate Ajoy Hazarika, Secretary of Consumers’ Legal Protection Forum, Assam said that more than 68 per cent of cigarettes smokers and 76 per cent of bidi smokers bought them from street vendors, pan shops and stores. Around 38 per cent of cigarettes, 47 per cent of bidi and 52 per cent of smokeless tobacco users picked up the habit before their 10th birthday. There is an urgent need to strengthen the tobacco control law as it is an important step towards improving public health.

The cyclists who participated took an oath to build a tobacco-free society. Ekta Purohit, Consumer VOICE, New Delhi participated in the cyclothon and said, “India has the second largest number of tobacco users (268 million or 28.6% of all adults in India) in the world - of these at least 1.3 million die every year from tobacco related diseases. One million deaths are due to smoking, with over 200,000 due to second-hand smoke exposure, and over 35,000 are due to smokeless tobacco use. A staggering 42.4% of men and 14.2% of women currently use tobacco.”

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