World No Tobacco Day – Dera Sacha Sauda on an Anti Tobacco Drive

Tobacco usage is one of the biggest banes of the society. Every year, on 31st May, WHO and partners mark World No Tobacco Day, to reduce tobacco consumption. WHO has designed a poster “Raise tobacco tax” to use around the world during this year’s World No Tobacco Day Campaign.

His Holiness Saint Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Ji Insan also strongly opposes the use of tobacco and all other intoxicants. Through the Glorious Method of Meditation which HE imparts free of cost, millions of people have already quit their deadly dependence on drugs. In every Spiritual congregation, Revered Guruji inspires the masses to wean them away from drugs, which in turn saves them from moral degradation. The result of this initiative and inspiration is that people throw heaps of intoxicants like tobacco, hand-rolled Indian cigarette (also called bidis), cigarette, betel nuts etc. away and are burnt publicly in spiritual congregations.

Dera Sacha Sauda is one of the great drug rehab and reform centre. Adhering to His Holiness’s teachings, the members of the organization have also been zealously working in the same direction and making an attempt to draw public and government attention on the need to take effective measures to prevent tobacco consumption which contaminates the air we live in.

His Excellency Guruji is spearheading 102 ongoing Humanitarian Activities including the Healthy Life -A concerted Anti–drug addiction and rehabilitation Campaign.

As tobacco makes an individual a prey of various kinds of cancers viz. bladder cancer, lung cancer, cancer of the oral cavity (mouth), cancer of the esophagus, stomach cancer, kidney cancer, cancer of the larynx (voice box), and many more, so Dera followers have made various attempts of curb this menace and have also conducted several rallies to get its consumption stopped. And it brought fruitful result in the form of legal ban on the consumption of tobacco in Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and many other states by the Government.

After exerting so many efforts by Dera volunteers and Government in this direction, India with a population of 1.2 billion, still has around 275 million tobacco users currently. Considering smokeless tobacco as safer one, 26 percent of adults, 33 percent of men and 18.4 percent of women in India consume smokeless tobacco. Whereas, the fact is that smokeless tobacco also causes oral and other cancers, as well as other mouth diseases and heart disease.

According to World Health Organization (WHO) one person dies every six seconds due to tobacco. Tobacco use is the second cause of death globally (after hypertension) and is currently responsible for killing one in 10 adults.

On abiding by the teachings of Revered Guruji, “Youth Veerangnayen” society conducted an awareness rally on World No Tobacco Day in J.J.Colony, Sirsa, highlighting the health risks associated with tobacco use and advocating for effective policies. This rally was flagged off by BJP State Chief and Advocate Sh. Jagdish Chopra. Several women participated in this protest march while carrying the banners depicting slogans on them to throw away the social evils like drug addiction, eunuchs’ ostracism, homosexuality, female feticide and prostitution from the society. They conveyed the message of awareness in J.J.Colony and around the General Hospital.

Sh. Chopra said, “Tobacco and all other social evils are stigma on the society, everyone should come ahead to end up this menace.” While appreciating the endeavours of “Youth Veerangnayen”, he added, “These kinds of processions conducted by the ladies will indeed bring a historical change.”

While addressing the local public, an activist of “Youth Veeangnyaen”, Ms. Rosy said, “Tobacco Addiction is the gateway to premature death. Smokers are prone to life-threatening diseases like cancer, cardiac risks and paralysis attack. Usage of tobacco can create cognitive dysfunction. If all the ladies come forward it would not be difficult to get the permanent halt on drugs and there would definitely be a revolutionary change.”

On getting influenced by them, local females came out of their homes and participated in this procession. Many activists were distributing the pamphlets scribing the slogans against drugs on them. Ms. Asha, Ms. Mandeep Kaur, Ms. Komal, Ms. Poonam, Ms. Meenakshi, Ms. Savita and Ms. Shashi were also present in this Protest March to observe the World No Tobacco Day.

This kind of Processions were also conducted in many other states viz. Punjab, Rajasthan, Delhi and U.P. so that the general public may get aware about the harms of tobacco. Those who run factories of tobacco are rich today because the business has good margin. They should also stop production of tobacco because they are knowingly doing the business of poison and playing with the health of people. Activists of the Youth Veerangnayen, addressing the general public, appealed not to use such products as they could cause deadly diseases like cancer. Also, they appealed to the shopkeepers selling tobacco to stop selling it as it has adverse effects on the health of public.