Make firm decision on World No Tobacco Day: DHO

Mangaluru: Tobacco, in any form, is harmful to human health. Once you start using it, it takes you until it ends your life. Therefore, change your perspective and make a firm decision not to become addicted to any habit. If you make a strong effort, your life will definitely become beautiful, said DHO Dr Thimmaiah HR.

He was speaking at the inauguration of World No Tobacco Day held at the Govt Teachers’ Training College in the city on Saturday. Wenlock District Hospital superintendent Dr DS Shivaprakash said that students sometimes need to critically analyse every advertisement. “Some attractively presented ads encourage the use of tobacco and gutka more and more. If you decide to use them out of curiosity or attraction to the actors in them, your life will end in tragedy. Therefore, as future teachers, you must always keep your discretion alert,” he said.

Gopalakrishna Shetty, a representative of the District Legal Services Authority, spoke about the legal aspects related to the consumption of intoxicants like tobacco and gutka. He explained how stringent the laws are and that the only way to avoid them is to stay away from these substances.

OR Prakash, a lecturer and acting principal of the Govt Teachers’ Training College, said thousands of people involved in the production, sale, and distribution of beedis, cigarettes, and other tobacco products have built their lives around this as a job or business for decades. Many of them are unaware of or choose to ignore the harsh truth that they are ruining others’ lives. The time has come for society to rethink such industries, he said

Dr Arati Kulkarni, a dentist and resource person for the programme, gave a detailed lecture on the various adverse effects of consuming different tobacco products.