THE JHARKHAND STORY NETWORK
Daltonganj, June 1: Medinirai Medical College’s Community Medicine department held a simple but impressive World No Tobacco Day with a solemn pledge to keep the children at bay from the tobacco industry interference.
Medical and para-medical students showed interest in it as their teachers like Dr Q H Khan, Dr D Ravishankar, Dr Ashish Tirkey, Dr Nikhil Nishant, Dr Prerna, Dr Mayank and others endeavoured hard to make this World No Tobacco Day a real meaningful day and not just any ordinary day when stereotyped statements and rhetoric fill the air.
Risks of passive smoking
If Dr Nikhil Nishant stressed the role of the students in minimising the invasion of tobacco, Dr Ashish Tirkey highlighted the risks of passive smoking. Dr Q H Khan spoke at length about tobacco control.
Essay writing was held. Short videos were exhibited. Principal of the Medinirai Medical College Dr Kamender Prasad was there to motivate the students.
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When Bollywood actor Arjun Rampal was fined for smoking
Tobacco chewing is as invasive a thing as smoking. Some 4 years ago one Bollywood actor Arjun Rampal was fined 500 rupees for smoking at the Daltonganj railway station. It had hogged national headlines then.
However, today there is stiff competition among the states of India in terms of tobacco cultivation and industry.
Gujarat’s northern part is a tobacco land so is Guntur and Krishna of Andhra Pradesh.
It is pungently said that Biharis and Jharkhandis keep khaini (tobacco) in their mouths more to keep it going as they have not more to eat for many times.
Much literate state of Karnataka has Shivamogga where tobacco cultivation is in abundance. People know about oral cancer and tobacco is seen as its major villain nevertheless tobacco chewing is considered a ‘mood setter’.
4 truckloads of ‘khaini’ in Daltonganj every two weeks
There come at least 4 truckloads of ‘khaini’ in Daltonganj every two weeks and this is more than enough to suggest how ‘khaini’ has found a place here in men’s daily chores.
