The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Call to create tobacco-free society

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Sunday, Jun 01, 2008
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Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Call to create tobacco-free society

Staff Reporter

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Various programmes were held in the city on Saturday to mark the World No-Tobacco Day observance.

Inaugurating the district-level observance of World No-Tobacco Day at Abraham Memorial School at Thirumala, Addressing a function, Pannian Ravindran, MP, said children and youth should take the lead in discouraging adults from using tobacco and thus help in creating a tobacco-free society. He said tobacco use was responsible for the increasing incidence of cancers and several chronic respiratory ailments. He also administered the No-Tobacco pledge to children.

Director of Health Services K. Shailaja and District Medical Officer Kumari G. Prema also spoke.

Speakers at a meeting organised by the district panchayat and the Alcohol and Drug Information Centre (ADIC-India) said the government should take stern measures to control the sale and use of smoke-free tobacco products such as ‘pan masala.’

Government departments, parent-teacher associations in schools and traders’ association should cooperate to ensure that ‘pan masala’ is not sold within specified distance from schools, they said. The meeting was inaugurated by the former Chief Secretary D. Babu Paul. Director of Kerala State Institute of Health and Family Welfare V. Mohanan Nair delivered the keynote address. Family Life Education Society of India held an anti-tobacco painting exhibition and painting contest in front of Secretariat.

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