By projecting cigarettes as a means to lose weight through advertisements, the tobacco lobby has, of late, started targeting women, M.V. Prabhu, Associate Dean of Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore, said here at a programme to mark World No Tobacco Day on Monday.
Mayor Rajani Dugganna, who inaugurated the programme, released a handout which contained information about the ill-effects of smoking. She said that such initiatives would help “people preserve their health”.
Dr. Prabhu also dispelled certain other myths regarding smoking. He said that cigarettes which were dubbed as low-tar content ones and filter-tipped were more harmful because they created “a false sense of security among smokers, due to which they inhale (the smoke) deeper into their lungs”. “It affects the menstrual cycle, can cause osteoporosis, and cervical cancer,” he said.
The programme was organised as part of a larger project called “Quit Tobacco India”, which is being funded by the national institutes of health through the University of Arizona, and the Sree Chitra Institute at Trivandrum. Four other colleges in south India are a part of this project.
Clay sculpture
Udupi Staff Correspondent reports:
The artists of Manipal Sand Heart Team created a clay sculpture depicting the hazards of consuming tobacco to mark World No Tobacco Day at the KMC Greens here on Monday.
The sculpture was created by Srinath Manipal, Venki Palimaru and Ravi Hirebettu. It shows a person trying to come out of his addiction of tobacco.
He has been shown in the midst of three skulls, two scorpions and a crab. According to the team leader, Mr. Manipal, the three skulls and two scorpions indicate pain, while the crab is indicative of cancer. The programme was conducted by the Manipal Sand Heart Team, in association with Shirdi Saibaba Hospital here.
The artists also distributed pamphlets on the ill-effects of tobacco consumption at the main bus-stand here.
