City vendors extend support to ‘Tobacco Free Lucknow Campaign’

LUCKNOW : City vendors have started supporting ‘Tobacco Free Lucknow Campaign’ launched around a month back. Over three-dozen vendors from the state capital submitted support letter with an assurance that they would not sell toffee or such items on shops selling tobacco products.

In a meeting of tobacco vendors organized on Wednesday by the Vinoba Sewa Ashram to educate vendors about the adverse impact of the tobacco use, vendors supported the idea that eatables that are consumed by kids should not be sold at shops that sell tobacco products. In the meeting, tobacco vendors promised to extend their full support to the ‘Tobacco Free Lucknow Campaign’ and gave their support letters in the ratification of the campaign. Vikram Mishra, media advisor of the campaign said that for enforcing the tobacco licensing order, the Lucknow Municipal Commissioner has fixed April 30. The given support letters by the tobacco vendors would be helpful in enforcement of tobacco licensing order on the fixed deadline.

Vendors were apprised that provision of the license would provide them a fixed place free from all the issues like forceful removal of shop by the Lucknow Municipal Corporation, demand of bribe, etc. Besides, they also assured of not keeping non-tobacco products along with tobacco products and selling the tobacco products to children and minors.

Ramesh Bhaiya, founder of Vinoba Sewa Ashram, and Gyaneshwar Singh, project leader of Tobacco Free Lucknow Campaign explained the hazards of tobacco use. “India has witnessed tobacco caused epidemic. Around 1.2 million people are dying from tobacco caused preventable deaths per year. India is also witnessing 5,500 new users of tobacco (children and adolescents) per day,” said Gyaneshwar.