May 31
Bengaluru
World No Tobacco Day is observed on May 31 every year to raises awareness of the ill effects of tobacco usage.
Theme
On one hand, the use of tobacco in its various forms poses several health risks, and on the other its cultivation is causing environmental degradation. The theme for this year’s No Tobacco Day – “We need food, not tobacco”, is aimed at encouraging alternative crops which are both sustainable and nutritious.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), large-scale cultivation of tobacco is worsening the global food crisis as around 3.5 million hectares of land are being converted globally for tobacco agriculture every year. Apart from contributing to deforestation, the extensive use of pesticides for the tobacco crop is degrading the soil, making it unfit for supporting many other (food) crops.
Cultivation and use in India
The Central Tobacco Research Institute – an ICAR institute situated in Andhra Pradesh’s Rajahmundry mentions that tobacco is cultivated in 4,50,000 hectares of agricultural land in India. The country is also a leading exporter of tobacco in the world.
The fifth National Family Health Survey (NFHS) conducted by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India revealed that 38% of Indian men and 8% of Indian women above the age of 15 had used tobacco in one form or the other. The percentage of tobacco use is higher in rural India than in cities. Chewing tobacco and smoking cigarettes are the two most common ways of tobacco use India.
Events in Bengaluru
On the occasion of World No Tobacco Day, the Department of Health and Family Welfare, Government of Karnataka organised a Cyclothon in Bengaluru from Arogya Soudha on Magadi Road to Freedom Park.
Karnataka Minister for Health and Family Welfare Dinesh Gundu Rao started the Cyclothon and also rode a bicycle with the participants. Officials and staff of the department were also present when the rally was flagged off at Arogya Soudha.
The department of Mental Health Education of NIMHANS (National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences) has organised an interactive live discussion on the topic 'Tobacco Pandemic: A snoozed alarm' on Wednesday. The discussion will be held between 4:00 PM and 5:00 PM on Twitter Spaces, and streamed live on YouTube
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