Smokers might hide their cigarettes during this Ganpati festival

if they wish to get a good darshan of Lord Ganesha.

Ganesh mandals in the city will sport no-smoking messages this Ganesh Chaturthi. That’s one of the awareness tools, officials plan to use to make Mumbaikars aware about their bid to make the city smoke-free by 2009.

The race to 2009 is because Mumbai will host the 14th World Conference on Tobacco or Health in March that year.

But can the smokers, who are habitual to smoking really respect this smoke-free campaign? The only reason when smokers give up smoking is when they breathe the clean sterlised air of ICU and pay a huge resulting bills. It is then, that they realize that cost of a cigrette is not just few pennies.Otherwise, they dont care, they puff the poisonous smoke on their non-smoking family members. Irresponsible parents, who place their own pleasures above everything else, shorten their lives and deprive their children of bright future by passing on their bad habits for their children to ape.

Hopefully, Ganesh mandals will be able to rope in sincere citizens and help spread information and awareness about the ill-effects of tobacco and ensure that anti-tobacco laws are effectively enforced from October 2, the date when the Centre’s new rules come into place.

The conference from March 8 to 12 2009 is a prestigious international event which will attract 2,000 delegates including anti-tobacco ambassadors such as New York mayor Michael Bloomberg and the director general of the World Health Organisation Margaret Chan.

To proudly wear the badge of non-smokers, your time to quit smoking starts now, or else continue your smoking habits but dont forget to do your advance booking to your nearest graveyards for your untimely death.

source:http://epaper.timesofindia.com/