I appreciate and acknowledge the efforts of Shri Dr Anbumani Ramadoss, the former Health Minister, Government of India, who did lots of work to make the nation get rid of the Tobacco menace.
(Wikipedia: Shri Anbumani Ramadoss: Dr Anbumani Ramadoss had been the Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare of the Government of India from May, 2004 till he resigned his post in April 2009 …Dr. Ramadoss brought stringent controls on tobacco and alcohol sales and advertisements to India. Under his leadership, the Health Ministry brought rules to ban smoking in public places (including work places), ban tobacco advertising, ban sale of tobacco products to minors and ban sale of tobacco products within 100 yards of educational institutions. While such practices are by now common in the US and other developed nations, Dr. Ramadoss faced strong opposition from the tobacco and alcohol lobbies.
In controversial moves, he advocated a ban on showing smoking or drinking in Movies and Television. In spite of strong resistance from the entertainment industry, statutory warnings superimposed on scenes depicting drinking started to appear on TV…)
Tobacco provides livelihood to many people of India. Government too gets lots of revenue from the economy of Tobacco.
In my childhood, once along with my (late) maternal grandmother, we were working in our kitchen garden with the help of a labor. My maternal grandmother, "नानी" used to suffer from toothache and melancholy , the farm labor gave some tobacco to my maternal grandmother, and after consuming it, she got lots of relief from the pains. But she got addicted, and even during the periods of strict religious fasts, She was unable to stay without tobacco. As long as I stayed with her, for her happiness, I used to buy dried tobacco leaves for her .
By seeing many elders smoking, and many attractive advertisements of Cigarette, I too developed desire to smoke, but my mother's strictness and teachings, kept me away from tobacco and its related products.
My Image as a studious student (From around year 1996), further kept me away from different tobacco products.
In School, the smoking habit was like an offence, but during my college days, many students used to smoke and chew tobacco and Gutkha, to manage their stress and thereby getting addicted.
During my professional management course, the numbers of students addicted to different tobacco products was further more. I had strictly said to the hostel warden, that I will not share the room with a smoker.
But my many classmates got better job in different tobacco companies, while I mentioning in my resume as not having the habit of smoking and chewing gutkha as my behavioral asset, had to struggle in getting job.
My all different bosses were/is having the habit of smoking (Regular or Occasional).
Once my one of the boss from IIM, who was smoking, offered me to smoke, I told him that I stay away from the cigarette and gutkha, on which he asked me to go away from him. When in Car, my boss or superior used to smoke, in protest I used to open the windows of the car to get good air. My IIM studied Boss later gave up the habit, but not my superiors. Later I was terminated from that job.
In Gujarat, for few days I had to frequently travel between Patan and Deesa. In jeep, many people used to smoke, and I used to protest by saying that if the smoking is not stopped, I will get down from the vehicle. I used to tell the co-travelers that smoking will harm your health and waste your money.
In spite of ban, many passengers of Train (Sleeper and General class) and Public Transport Bus will keep on smoking. I have advised and also sometimes shouted at such fellow passengers. I also used to teach the farm-laborers to get out of these habits. While staying in different Paying guests at Hyderabad and Ahmedabad, I had requested the House owner, not to give me a room, where my room partner will smoke inside the room.
In a restaurant, a white-collared person was smoking near the children of the restaurant keepers. I told them to remove their children away from the smoker as it will harm the children. Now also, I avoid eating in the restaurants where some one smokes and I avoid buying from the shop where smokers have assembled. At present, I have taken a room on rent, and I am paying high cost, but not sharing the room with any smoker.
In my different blogs, I have continued to deplore the habit of smoking, chewing gutkha, and other addictions.
My Image as a studious student (From around year 1996), further kept me away from different tobacco products.
In School, the smoking habit was like an offence, but during my college days, many students used to smoke and chew tobacco and Gutkha, to manage their stress and thereby getting addicted.
During my professional management course, the numbers of students addicted to different tobacco products was further more. I had strictly said to the hostel warden, that I will not share the room with a smoker.
But my many classmates got better job in different tobacco companies, while I mentioning in my resume as not having the habit of smoking and chewing gutkha as my behavioral asset, had to struggle in getting job.
My all different bosses were/is having the habit of smoking (Regular or Occasional).
Once my one of the boss from IIM, who was smoking, offered me to smoke, I told him that I stay away from the cigarette and gutkha, on which he asked me to go away from him. When in Car, my boss or superior used to smoke, in protest I used to open the windows of the car to get good air. My IIM studied Boss later gave up the habit, but not my superiors. Later I was terminated from that job.
In Gujarat, for few days I had to frequently travel between Patan and Deesa. In jeep, many people used to smoke, and I used to protest by saying that if the smoking is not stopped, I will get down from the vehicle. I used to tell the co-travelers that smoking will harm your health and waste your money.
In spite of ban, many passengers of Train (Sleeper and General class) and Public Transport Bus will keep on smoking. I have advised and also sometimes shouted at such fellow passengers. I also used to teach the farm-laborers to get out of these habits. While staying in different Paying guests at Hyderabad and Ahmedabad, I had requested the House owner, not to give me a room, where my room partner will smoke inside the room.
In a restaurant, a white-collared person was smoking near the children of the restaurant keepers. I told them to remove their children away from the smoker as it will harm the children. Now also, I avoid eating in the restaurants where some one smokes and I avoid buying from the shop where smokers have assembled. At present, I have taken a room on rent, and I am paying high cost, but not sharing the room with any smoker.
In my different blogs, I have continued to deplore the habit of smoking, chewing gutkha, and other addictions.
The Cigarette / Gutkha / Alcohol, helps the labor to remain labor and it helps the supervisors/managers to meet their Target!
