Students junk smoking ban

Students across the city feel it is impossible to completely ban smoking on campus. They say that the smoke-free campus campaign, which was launched by the Delhi University Student's Union (DUSU) amid much fanfare on February 14 this year, will not be able to yield much results as the student body is going too slow on the implementation part.

Publicity stunt

Rejecting the initiative as a publicity stunt to draw attention of the freshers, Rajeev, a student of the Law Faculty said, "This is just another publicity stunt and will not yield anything. No one can stop a smoker by fining him as the Kamla Nagar market is near by and one can easily buy cigarettes from there. Amrita (Bahari) earlier also tried to grab some attention by initiating this drive but it could hardly bring any change."

Similar are the views of students of other university and colleges. Ranjeet a PHD student in JNU said, "Smoking should be banned inside the colleges and at public places but one can not restrict people from having a puff. Smoking is banned in JNU too but we get cigarettes inside the campus and we can indulge in freely anywhere. If they really want to ban sale of cigarette then they should stop its production."

Another student Badal Srivastava said, "It is good to curb smoking inside the college premises but putting a stop on smoking any where is violation one's freedom of choice. If a person is a smoker then should he travel outside the campus to smoke? It is not just feasible."

Only 10 students and three vendors selling tobacco within the campus have been challaned so far. On the first day of the drive itself DUSU members had challaned three students and so far they have managed to challan only seven students in five months.

MiD DAY has reported how easy it is to buy a cigarette and smoke on the campus and that too in front of the DUSU office and in front of DUSU chair holders.

Cessation Centre

Meanwhile, Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss joined hand with Delhi University Student's Union's programme 'smoke free campus' to encourage youth to say no to tobacco.

Hailing the initiative by the student leaders to create a smoking-free campus, the Minister assured that a smoking cessation centre will be operationalised on the campus very soon.

Referring to the decision by Chandigarh administration to make the Union Territory smoke free, Dr Ramadoss said that the Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit has committed to make Delhi smoke free before the Commonwealth Games in 2010.

Endorse health

Speaking about smoking in the movies, Dr Ramadoss said that he is not against movies but film stars should become brand ambassadors for health programmes like National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) and Pulse Polio Campaign and not for the tobacco companies.

"This becomes all the more important in view of the fact that movies contribute to almost 52 per cent of promotion of the killer habit," the Minister said.

Source: http://www.mid-day.com/news/2008/jul/230708delnews7.htm