Smokescreen

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal"><span style="" font-style:="" italic="">The National Tobacco Control report indicates youth think smoking and tobacco consumption is cool...</span><br /><br /></div> <div align="right" style="position:relative; left: -3"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" align="right" border="1" width="52.0%"> <colgroup> <col width="100.0%" /> </colgroup> <tr valign="top"> <td width="100.0%" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="" valign:="" top="" background-color:="" f3f3f3=""> <div class="Normal"><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">What the report says...</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="">* India is the third largest producer of tobacco in the world</span><br /><span style="" font-size:="">* One-third of the global deaths due to tobacco occur in India </span><br /><span style="" font-size:="">* One million people in India die from tobacco-related diseases</span><br /><span style="" font-size:="">* Of all tobacco-related cancers, 75 per cent are found in the oral cavity, pharynx and larynx, while 15 per cent are found in the lungs</span><br /><span style="" font-size:="">* Daily, more than 55,000 children below the age of 15 are first-time users of tobacco in India</span></div> </td> </tr> </table></div> <div class="Normal">Each time Chandler lights up a cigarette, his gang of <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Friends</span> ostracise him or snatch it away -- it''s just not the cool thing to do, dude, is the clear message.Cut to India, youth icons puffing on the cancer stick and disturbing research findings. <br /><br />Focussing on the high prevalent use of tobacco in the country, the national Tobacco Control report has highlighted the burning issue facing health experts -- the urgent need to effect an attitudinal change in the mindset of parents and youngsters towards smoking. Ten to 40 per cent of school children and 70 per cent of college students in Mumbai consume tobacco products -- as much as one to two sachets a day. "Even today, the youth think it is cool to smoke. The growing number of <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">hukkah</span> pots in coffee joints is a classic example. What is the point of banning smoking in public spaces when they watch their parents smoking at home?" asserts Padmini Somani, founder, Salaam Bombay Foundation, an NGO fighting tobacco. <br /><br />According to a survey conducted by this NGO, on 2,000 respondents (10-18 years) in Mumbai recently, 46.6 per cent stated that people who consume tobacco have more friends. Noted tobacco researcher Dr P C Gupta, who has edited the tobacco report, says the rise in smoking amongst the middle and upper class youth is a cause for concern. There are 240 million adult tobacco users in India and prevalence data indicates that about 17.5 per cent of the 13 to 15-year-olds are current tobacco users of any form. "They constantly watch their icons -- a Bollywood superstar, a leading model -- smoking as part of their lifestyle. We have to de-normalise this aspect," he says.<br /><a href="mailto:smita.deshmukh@timesgroup.com">smita.deshmukh@timesgroup.com</a><br /><span style="" font-style:="" italic=""><script language="javascript">doweshowbellyad=0; </script></span></div> </div>