New Delhi: A little hamlet in Madhya Pradesh has literally emerged from behind the obscurity of a smoke-screen to be lauded in a report submitted by World Health Organisation (WHO).
The report, titled 'Profile on Smoke-Free Environment in the South-East Asia Region', has praised the residents of Chinchgohan Bhairokheda village in the Khandwa district of Madhya Pradesh for exemplary work done by them to make their village a tobacco-free area.
The report is being released on the occasion of World No-Tobacco Day on May 31. It aims to establish smoke-free environment. Research in South-East Asia suggests that among those exposed to second-hand smoke (SHS), the most affected are women and children both at home, at public places and at workplaces.
In India as well, It is a cause for grave concern. Tobacco use and exposure to SHS are major contributors to fatal diseases.
The turning point came when a 40-year old woman in the village died due to oral cancer. The villagers realised that heavy use of gutka (a mix of tobacco and betel nut) was responsible for her premature death.
The community, including school children, met one evening and unanimously decided that products which cause such a disease and death should not be sold in the village.
All grocers and paan vendors in the village took an oath to stop the sale of tobacco products. When the news was aired by news channels, the district administration decided to award to the villagers.
''Many of neighbouring villages were also motivated by Chinchgohan's step,'' says local Government Dental College Principal B M Shrivastava.
(With inputs from UNI)
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