Autorickshaw drivers educating public

Chennai : Autorickshaw drivers are finding out that it is a tough job weaning people from tobacco. The drivers have been assigned the job of educating the public who travel by their vehicles on the ills of smoking and chewing tobacco.The effort of at least one organisation has left them feeling let down by government authorities. "We went to the government health department at Teynampet and asked for help to set up a stage for our plays and music programme. But they sent us away. The government has allotted crores of rupees but what is the use if it cannot be used to educate the public?" asks Kumar of Goodwill auto drivers' association. He says 30 of the association members participated in the workshop, but 600 drivers are involved in distributing pamphlets.

CITU, which sent 13 trainers, has proposed a programme when it distributes the annual `death fund' (to a bereaved auto driver's family) said B. Anbazhagan, the union president. The union have distributed pamphlets in autorickshaw stands in South Chennai where they have 7,000 members, he said.The drivers, attached to the various unions in the city, participated in a workshop conducted by Cancer Institute over a fortnight ago. Goodwill with 600 members sent 30 members while CITU sent 13. These organisations besides AITUC and LPF sent their members to the workshop. The organisations have been enthused to conduct programmes and submit a report on their experience by June 10.

On June 18, at the institute's annual reunion day the `Best anti-tobacco auto rickshaw association award' would be given to the three best organisations based on the quality and quantity of work they have done, said E. Vidhubala, principal investigator at Tobacco Cessation Clinic (TCC). "The data in TCC says addiction has not come down. According to World Health Organisation if a person has quit smoking, tobacco use for six months then it means he/she has to quit permanently. Professional support is needed to help people quit. They generally quit for a week or two and then get back to the habit."This year the theme of World No Tobacco Day, to be observed on May 31, is `smoke-free environment.'On that day, the institute will display banners at traffic junctions and railway stations. Students from various city colleges and the Anna University will participate in rallies and conduct talks on trains.

"Even if you have a smoking area it will hurt non-smokers in other areas. Hence we are insisting that the entire areas be made smoke-free," explained Ms. Vidhubala. Tobacco is among the major causes of death in the world. It is common knowledge that not only smokers, but also thousands of those who have never smoked, die each year from diseases caused by breathing second-hand tobacco smoke.