Other States - Orissa

Awareness programmes to help people overcome addictions

BERHAMPUR: So-called cheap addiction like gutka chewing and smoking takes a heavy toll on the health and finances in the long run. To make the people realise it the members of the city unit of the Asaram Bapu Satsang are continuing awareness programmes throughout the year.

Their efforts range from street plays to posters and direct interaction with youth. In their street plays they show gutka, cigarettes and liquor as demons who take away health and life from a person. They have also come up with an extreme terrorising poster against gutka chewing. This poster has gruesome pictures of oral cavities of persons suffering from cancer due to smoking and gutka chewing. The catch line of this poster is ‘would you want to destroy your sweet mouth with such carcinogens that you buy’. The members of the Satsang say they urge persons, who say they do not have the will power to do away their bad habit to paste this poster at their home as motivation. They have also come up with a humorous pamphlet in which addictive intoxicants are depicted as point values for easy entry to funeral ground.

Sadhu Choudhury, the coordinator of the city unit of the satsang said despite much efforts they have not been able to eradicate the habit of gutka chewing to large extent. According to him the senior citizens should also dissuade the younger generation from chewing gutka, at least to keep the city clean. The satsang is also taking up awareness drives at tribal villages against tobacco chewing, smoking and liquor addiction. People are being advised to substitute gutka and smoking with tulsi leaves, dried amla, ginger etc. Mr Choudhury said Pranayam helps refrain from bad habits like smoking.

© Copyright 2000 - 2009 The Hindu