Monday, Mar 25, 2013
Patna: As many as 15 panchayats (village councils) in Bihar have achieved the rare feat of being declared a “smoke-free” zone by the state authorities and some non-Government organisations (NGOs), a move officials say will save many precious lives in the future.
Smoking has been causing a huge number of deaths every year in Bihar as well as across India, and according to an official report more than a million people die of consuming tobacco products every year.
The village councils achieving the rare distinction include nine in Nalanda, the home district of Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, five in Patna and one in Munger district.
Their declaration of being a “smoke-free” zone by the State Health Society and some NGOs have brought about a perceivable change with the sight of villagers releasing puffs of smoke in the air completely missing as all the shops in these villages have stopped selling tobacco products.
The villagers have also launched a campaign against smoking by putting up banners, posters at vantage points and also undertaking awareness tours in the region to make co-villagers aware of the importance of not smoking.
“We had to work hard to make people renounce smoking. We requested them with folded hands not to smoke, made them swear to leave smoking and also kept a constant vigil on them until they agreed to follow us,” said Chinta Devi, the Haibaspur village council chief in Patna district.
‘Healthy sign’
Devi led a team of 14 people who launched an intensive campaign against smoking in the village council region.
Many of her colleagues have also launched similar campaigns in her areas. However, a village chief in central Bihar’s Nalanda district has left everyone behind by launching a simultaneous campaign against both smoking and alcohol.
To give more teeth to his campaign, he has also formed a “alcohol-free group” comprising dozens of village heads and teetotaller villagers.
“Along with my group members, I have been knocking on the doors of every villager in my areas and appealing to them not to drink or smoke. Our appeal has a very encouraging effect on the villagers as our group is getting bigger with each passing day,” said Chandrashekhar Prasad, the head of Jagdishpur-Tiyari village council in Nalanda district.
The ongoing move by the village chiefs in the state has invited praise from health experts who have described it as a commendable act.
“The village councils competing to get the ‘smoke-free’ tag is a quite healthy sign. Smoking is one of the main causes of cancer and has been destroying a huge number of lives every year,” said the national vice-president of Cancer Awareness Society Dr A.A. Hai.
Apparently alarmed at the danger of smoking, the state government in Bihar imposed a 13.5 per cent tax on tobacco products this budget session, claiming the move will save precious lives. As per a report, there are around 8.5 million smokers in Bihar and the government’s move to hike a tax on tobacco products will save at least 210,300 lives.
As per the Global Adult Tobacco Survey conducted by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare in 2010, 14.2 per cent of people in Bihar smoke. However 24.7 per cent of all surveyed people in Bihar reported being exposed to dangerous second-hand smoke in public places.
By Lata Rani ?Correspondent
Gulf News 2013. All rights reserved.
