'54% youth take to smoking due to Bollywood, regional cinema'

PANAJI: Around 54% of youth and 30 % of general public take up to smoking due to the influence of regional cinema and , Bollywood a study by two health-related NGOs stated. 

Addressing a press conference, the National Organisation for Tobacco Eradicatoin (NOTE)-India and the Voluntary Health Association of Goa (VHAG) said that India's film industry plays a major part in the glamourisation of smoking, which is backed by a 30,000 crore tobacco industry. 

"There is no safe level for smoking. In the years to come, India and China will have the most tobacco-related deaths," said Shekhar Salkar, general secretary, NOTE-India. 

Gladstone D'Costa of VHAG, pointed out that filmmakers often cited creative freedom as reasons for them to portray smoking in films. 

"What is more important? The creative freedom of the film industry or the destruction of 114 lives every hour from tobacco related diseases?" he questioned. 

Salkar added, "All creative film directors should visit hospitals offering treatment for cancer and see the suffering the patients endure. Only when the film directors see these struggles will they be aware of the consequences tobacco has on human lives." 

Salkar further said that a survey conducted in Goa showed that the state has the least number of smokers. "We have 9% of our state, the least as compared to the rest of India," he said. 

Previously, it was Punjab who had occupied the top slot of least smokers with 15%. 

Also present at the press conference was Raman Kumar, writer and director of films and serials including the popular serial of yore - Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi. 

"India has a very high population of youngsters. Most of the population is below 30 years of age. This segment is very vulnerable and impressionable to what is shown on TV and movies," he said. 

With regard to NOTE's latest campaign; against the character of Aishwarya Rai Bachan smoking in the movie 'Guzaarish', Salkar produced a written reply from the film producers UTV. The reply stated: 'The scene is not meant to offend the sensibilities of any person and definitely not to encourage the youth to indulge in smoking or promote smoking in any manner. It is merely a creative requirement for the script.'


Courtesy The Times Of India

Let's fight modern slavery

The United Nations' (UN) International Day for the Abolition of Slavery is annually observed on December 2 to remind people that modern slavery works against human rights.

The day also encourages people to put meaning to the words of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that "no one shall be held in slavery or servitude," through their actions. This holiday is not to be confused with the UN's International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition.

The United Nations is committed to fighting against slavery and considers bonded labour, forced labour, the worst forms of child labour and trafficking people as modern forms of slavery. Some sources say that more than one million children are trafficked each year for cheap labour or sexual exploitation. These types of slavery are global problems and go against article four of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states that 'no one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms'.

However, today even in our country there are children who are especially kept in servitude and also used to do various types of work, mostly due to poverty. Despite all the stringent laws, child labour continues. Do not turn a blind eye if ever you know of any children who are being forced to work, like slaves in the past.

The International Day for the Abolition of Slavery recalls the adoption of the UN Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others of.

To remember the convention, a UN report of the Working Group on Slavery recommended in 1985 that December 2 be proclaimed the World Day for the Abolition of Slavery in all its forms. By 1995, the day was known as the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery.

On December 18, 2002, the UN General Assembly proclaimed 2004 the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle against Slavery and its Abolition. On November 28, 2006, the assembly designated March 25, 2007, as the International Day for the Commemoration of the 200th Anniversary of the Abolition of the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

The UN also annually observes the UN's International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition on August 23.

Do more to combat hunger, say NGOs

  On the eve of World Food Day  and in the backdrop of the release of the Global Hunger Index report 2010, civil society organisations Friday said India should focus on inclusive growth with special focus on malnourished children to combat hunger. 

Mobile blood banks to make donation easy

  NEW DELHI: Not being able to make it to a blood donation camp? Don't worry. A state-of-the-art blood collection bus could soon park at your doorstep.

Sarath Babu, a mealion dollar baby

      His story is an inspiration for millions. A self-made entrepreneur, his mission is to help the poor through job creation. E Sarathbabu hit the headlines after he rejected several high profile job offers from various MNCs after he passed out of IIM, Ahmedabad two years ago.

Blindness No Barrier to Excel Proves Muddanna

  Tumkur, Jul 21: One can achieve anything in life, provided one has a clear goal, self-respect and determination to achieve the set goal. And here is an example of such achievement by a blind individual Muddanna, a native of Gubbi taluk, in the district, here.

Mandela's life and times

Nelson Mandela is one of the world's most revered statesmen, who led the struggle to replace the apartheid regime of South Africa with a multi-racial democracy.

Jailed for 27 years, he emerged to become the country's first black president and to play a leading role in the drive for peace in other spheres of conflict. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993.

His charisma, self-depreciating sense of humour and lack of bitterness over his harsh treatment, as well as his amazing life story, partly explain his extraordinary global appeal.

First official estimate: An NGO for every 400 people in India

India has possibly the largest number of active non-government, not-for-profit organizations in the world. A recent study commissioned by the government put the number of such entities, accounted for till 2009, at 3.3 million. That is one NGO for less than 400 Indians, and many times the number of primary schools and primary health centres in India.

Shankar Acharya: Employment problems

States can improve their labour ecosystems through intelligent policy measures on demand and supply side of labour and labour reforms

Shankar Acharya /  July 8, 2010, 0:36 IST

UN to set up agency promoting women's rights

2010-07-03 08:20:00

The UN General Assembly Friday took a major step by pulling together fragmented groups to establish a new entity aimed at intensifying efforts to meet the needs of women and girls worldwide.