An interactive exhibition in Delhi

School children have launched a campaign to support stronger pictorial health warnings on tobacco products in India at the India International Trade Fair. The campaign kicked off on November 14, which is celebrated as Children’s Day.
Young school children visited the exhibition at Pragati Maidan for this purpose and get enlightened about the tobacco epidemic that is tightening its noose around lakhs of people in our country.The exhibition is being jointly organised by HRIDAY (Health Related Information & Dissemination Amongst Youth) and Public Health Foundation of India. It is showcasing the best international practices in terms of effective health warnings that are displayed on tobacco products in different countries. Through signature campaigns, opinion polls, ‘warning walls’ and media advocacy, the exhibition hopes to garner pubic and political support in favour of effective pictorial health warnings that will help save lives today and in the years to come.
“Pictorial warnings on the covers of Indian cigarette packs are not that effective. These should be effective enough to act as a deterrent,” said Parul Kashyap, a class IX student of St Mark’s School, Janakpuri.
Monica Arora, senior director of HRIDAY, said, “Pictorial health warnings first notified in India in 2006 have faced delays and dilutions time and again. In fact, numerous baseless arguments have been bandied about against the use of gory pictures to inform about the health effects of tobacco use. This exhibition offers people an opportunity to reach out to the policymakers through this groundswell of opinion.”
According to KS Reddy, president, Public Health Foundation of India, “A number of developing countries like Uruguay, Thailand, Malaysia and Mauritius have already taken steps in the right direction by implementing effective pictorial health warnings. It is imperative that the Indian government replaces the current weak and ineffective warnings with stronger ones on December 1, particularly in the wake of the growing burden of tobacco use in the country”
Vandana Shah, who is spearheading the campaign for tobacco-free world for kids in South East Asia, feels that it is high time India takes a leaf out of other countries’ that have successfully implemented the campaign against tobacco consumption by using powerful pictures which can dissuade people to use it. She also stressed the need to strengthen advertising laws which should take public interest into account.
More and more schools are getting involved in this campaign against tobacco. “This sort of exhibition helps school children have an idea about the harmful impact of tobacco abuse,” said Anupam Ganesh, science teacher at St Mark’s School, Janakpuri.