'No Tobacco Campaign' kicks off today

Leading corporate houses, malls and educational institutions have come forth to show support.

Among the many programs, the No Tobacco Campaign aims to generate a minimum of 10,000 pledges against tobacco consumption on 31st of May from across the emirates.

UAE residents can log onto a dedicated website or send a SMS by typing the word 'pledge' to 6448 to register. A poster competition will seek to identify a winning poster which will then go as an official MOH signage across all cigarette packs in the GCC. Subsequently an exhibition of top posters will make the rounds of the nation in the month of June.

"With tobacco rising to be the single largest killer in coming decades, it is urgent to address the issue. Every six seconds, someone across the world is dying because of tobacco abuse. One in five teenagers has begun smoking. Campaigns such as these which aim at the grassroots of any society are bound to have a greater impact," said Carl Sardegna, Chief Executive Officer of Green Crescent Insurance Company, the official partner for the initiative.

The Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Emirates Posts, RTA, and companies such as; Dubal, Al Habtoor Leighton Groupand NAFCO, are supporting the initiative. The participation of local malls is significant including Ibn Battuta Mall, Al Ghurair Mall, Wafi Mall, Dubai Festival City, Times Square, Lamcy Plaza, Safeer Malls, Abu Dhabi Mall, and Khalidiya Mall; as well as educational hubs like Dubai Academic City- student hub have joined the campaign to communicate this important message.

The student community has come forth in its own way to lend its voice to the campaign. The Department of Media and Communications, at Mahe Manipal University will enact a specially developed ten-minute skit to draw public attention. The skit threads real life experiences of smokers, passive smokers and past smokers to educate the viewers about the dangers of tobacco consumption.