& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

Text warning not enough

Study reveals 86pc of 3.18cr tobacco users illiterate

Amena Khatun
Textual warning messages on the packets of tobacco products have little impact on reducing tobacco consumption in the country as around 86 percent of the total 3.18 crore tobacco consumers are illiterate.
Section 10 of The Smoking and Using of tobacco Products (Control) Act, 2005’ says each enterprise producing tobacco product shall print on the packet or package in capital letters clearly visible and in large size (not less than 30% of total area) any of the following warnings, namely: a) smoking causes death; b) stroke occurs for smoking; c) smoking is the cause of heart disease; d) smoking is the cause of lung cancer, e) smoking creates problems to breathing; or f) smoking is harmful to health.
Though the tobacco manufacturingcompanies specially bidi or cigarette companies print such textual warnings on their packets and packages, those warnings hardly help reduce tob.iccoconsumption, as majority tobacco users cannot rrad
According to World Health Organisation (WHO), use of pic tures with graphic depictions of disease and other negative images has a greater impact than words and is critical in reaching the large number of people who cannot read.
Pictorial warning messages against tobacco are more effective than textual messages specially in countries having low literacy rate said Dr M Mostafa Zaman, National Professional Officer (Non-Communicable Diseases) of National Tobacco Control Cell ofWHO, Dhaka.
He said Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Thailand and other countries' experiences show that strong pictorial health warnings are effective in reaching all types of smokers, including illiterate people.
A latest report of National Tobacco Control Cell (NTCC) under the health and family welfare ministry says 36.8 percent people (3.18 crore) aged above 15 years consume tobacco through various means in the country.
A WHO study titled 'Impact of tobacco-related illness in Bangladesh' says about 86 percent of the total tobacco users are illiterate. Of them, 61.1 percent are male while 24.9 percent female.
The study says that tobacco users are higher among the lower economic class of peo-
ple in the country.
While showing a picture of a cigarette packet in a leaflet of WHO that displays dental carries caused by smoking, Ibrahim, a rickshaw puller in the city, said "I know bidi or cigarette is harmful for health but it is beyond my imagination that it could be so harmful."
Asked about whether he read the written warnings on the cigarette or bidi packets like 'Smoking is harmful for health' Ibrahim said, "I don't knowhow to read."
Not only Ibrahim, many other illiterate people in the country smoke tobacco every day without knowing its bad impacts on health.
The World No Tobacco Day 2009 was observed in the country as elsewhere in the world yesterday under the theme of 'Tobacco Health Warnings,' specially emphasising pictorial health warnings.
An NTCC statistics say more than 57,000 people die and around 382,000 others become disabled in the country due to tobacco consumption while 12 lakh people are affected by eight tobacco related diseases causing a loss ofTk 5,000 crore.