Indore: Former union minister and actor Shatrughan Sinha on Sunday appealed to actors not to do any tobacco advertisements since they have a great impact on common people.
“Common people follow actors and their endorsement of tobacco products has a big impact,” Sinha said, while addressing the valedictory function during the annual conference of Indian Society of Oncology and Indian Society of Medical and Pediatric Oncology organised by RRCAT, Indore on Sunday.
“I was a big fan of Raj Kapoor and started smoking in an attempt to imitate him. Amitabh Bachchan and Shashi Kapoor were also smokers but they quit it before I did,” Sinha said.
Sharing his journey from being a chain smoker to a crusader against tobacco, Sinha said one of his biggest achievements in life is quitting cigarette.
“I was a chain smoker but during the shooting of ‘Mere Apne’ I realised that it is taking toll on me. I was shooting a mock fight scene with Vinod Khanna, Dharmendra and Kabir Bedi and after the scene of 1.30 minutes, Vinod Khanna and I were left gasping for more than 10-12 minutes. That day, I learnt that cigarette is damaging me internally and I decided to quit,” he said.
Sinha added that he can never continue to smoke now as he is afraid of the withdrawal period which was the toughest time.
The veteran film actor also expressed concern over increasing trend of tobacco consumption in youth especially in females. He appealed to make Indore, Madhya Pradesh and country a tobacco free.
Earlier, organising secretary Dr SS Nayyar shared memories of Sinha’s first visit to Indore in 1992 and said that the actor had come to Indore directly from Lahore.
“He was attending a function in Lahore till 2 am on January 17, 1992 but came to Indore next morning to attend our programme to launch anti-tobacco drive and Indore Declaration against tobacco,” Dr Nayyar added.
A tobacco control advocacy guide was also launched by the experts during the programme.
Duty free premium tobacco shops at airports is a concern: Expert
Anti tobacco activist Rajesh Sharma said that the duty free premium tobacco products available at airports is a concern as people can buy tobacco products there at cheaper rates.
“Government should ban tobacco products there as well,” he added.
Cancerathon organised: For spreading awareness against cancer, a marathon ‘Cancerathon’ was organised on Sunday from Nehru Stadium. More than 500 people including experts, social activists participated in the run.
Felicitations
Best paper award for basic and applied oncology:
1. Amia Vaze, Indore
2. Priyanka Mohapatra , Bhubaneswar
3. Khageshwar Sahu, RRCAT, Indore
4. Advika Gupta, IIT, Indore
5. G Ganamurthy, Kalpakkam
Best Phd thesis award:
1. Dr Hemant Krishna, Homi Bhabha National Institute
2. Khan Mohammad Khan, Homi Bhabha National Institute
Felicitation of eminent personality:
1. Vishwamitra Sharma
2. Dr BM Shrivastava
3. Dr Shovan Majumder, RRCAT, Indore
