Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh
In a clarion call to the youth of the country, a day-long festival was organised in Varanasi on September 1. The aim of Zindagi Se Yaari youth festival was to spread awareness amongst the young people of cities and villages about the evils of alcohol and tobacco addiction.
As part of the festival, music, theatre, games, puppet shows and discussions were organised to highlight the terrible consequences of tobacco and alcohol addiction.
“In Uttar Pradesh alone, every second adult is addicted to one form of tobacco or the other,” Ravi Shekhar, one of the organising members of the festival, told Gaon Connection.
“Learning about the disastrous consequences of tobacco use in the state and country was one of the reasons we organised the festival. There is an urgent need to do something at the ground level. This festival hopes to reach out to the youth and tell them about the gravity of tobacco abuse. It is also to draw their attention to how much of a drain addiction can be financially,” Shekhar added.
The youth festival was jointly organised by the Department of Sociology, the students of National Service Scheme, and the faculty of Social Sciences, Banaras Hindu University (BHU).
According to Shekhar, students of ten other universities other than BHU, took part in the various events of the festival. The festival also saw the presence of oncologists who warned of the dire consequences of tobacco use.
“Use of tobacco from a young age can lead to serious health problems, cancer and death,” Asim Misra, associate professor of surgical oncology, and head and neck surgeon at Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital and the Mahamana Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya Cancer Centre in Varanasi, told Gaon Connection.
“Every year nearly 15 lakh young people lose their lives to cancer and other serious health disorders directly related to tobacco use,” he pointed out. According to him the youth in Uttar Pradesh are struggling with heart problems, high blood pressure, incidences of stroke, etc, that are due to their heavy use of tobacco.
The youth festival was jointly organised by the Department of Sociology, the students of National Service Scheme, and the faculty of Social Sciences, Banaras Hindu University (BHU).
According to a report by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the financial burden caused by tobacco amounts to 1.2 per cent of India’s gross domestic product (GDP) which is equal to the combined expenditure on health by the Union and the state governments.
“About 30 per cent of the youth in urban and rural areas of Uttar Pradesh are using tobacco. And, the incidence of oral cancer is huge in the state,” Misra said. “Even if people themselves do not smoke, they become passive smokers and are vulnerable to cancer even by just being in the presence of those who do,” the associate professor warned.
“It is common practice for young people to hang out at roadside shops, tea stalls or other places and smoke. Many of them think it is a ‘cool’ thing to do, without realising they could be ruining their beautiful lives,” Kavita Yadav, a student of BHU, told Gaon connection.
Talking about how calamitous tobacco addiction could be not just to the use but the entire family, Yadav said that the government should introduce laws that prohibit the sale of tobacco-related products to people below the age of 21, she said.
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“Often it is peer pressure that makes young people take up smoking. But before succumbing to temptation, it is important the young person think about how tobacco is an invitation to destroy one’s life,” Rohit, a 25-year-old masters student from BHU, told Gaon connection.
It is a serious lapse of judgement if young people think smoking or using tobacco products is something to be proud of, Anushka Singh, another student, told Gaon Connection.
As part of the festival, music, theatre, games, puppet shows and discussions were organised to highlight the terrible consequences of tobacco and alcohol addiction.
“It is the responsibility of each one of us to spread awareness about the evils of tobacco use. If we say ‘no’ to tobacco, it means we are saying a ‘yes’ to life. On the other hand, if we use tobacco, it is an invitation to death,” she added. Not only do users of tobacco ruin their own lives, but they also reduce the life of their loved ones to misery, and expose them to risk,” Anushka pointed out.
In his address at the conclusion of the festival, Arvind Kumar Joshi, dean of the department of Social Work and Sociology, BHU, said that educational institutions had an important role to play in discouraging the use of tobacco amongst the youth who were the future of the country, and make them aware of how tobacco can take away their lives.
“Young people in general and youth of Uttar Pradesh in particular use a lot of bidi and smokeless tobacco. We organised this event to put things into perspective for them and help them make healthy, safe choices. We also want to reinforce the idea that youth- occupied spaces should be tobacco free spaces,” Joshi said.
