GSA continues its efforts to curb tobacco usage in the region

More than 10 million people die in India due to tobacco usage in India

Nabaz-e-Punjab Bureau, December 31:
Generation Saviour Association a non-profit organization founded in 1996 through capacity building, enforcement of tobacco control laws, awareness and multi-stakeholder engagement is trying hard to make the region tobacco free. More than 70 lakh people die of tobacco use, out of which 10 lakh deaths are in India. India is a home to 81 Lakh tobacco users. No doubt the tobacco industry has proved the greatest stumbling block in the initiatives taken for tobacco control, but still the tobacco usage is falling. Credit to the enduring and never-ending efforts of Indian government and numerous non-governmental organisations, there is a visible 6% decrease in tobacco usage in India.
The organisation is headed by Opinder Preet Kaur, a municipal councilor, an author and a social worker who left her well-paying job in United States and came back to India to finish her mother’s unaccomplished task undertaken by Generation Saviour Association, which was founded by her mother, Ms Amteshwer Kaur who filed her first court case, which was a Public Interest Litigation, in High Court of Punjab and Haryana on banning public smoking. Thereafter taking cognizance of the absence of any law prohibiting smoking in public in much debated Murli Deora case, the Supreme Court ordered the Centre Legislation to come up with a law curtailing public smoking in India. The law came in picture and then began Ms Amteshwar Kaur’s tedious yet glorious journey from village to village, educating people about the law, inculcating in youth healthy lifestyle away from smoking or use of any other drugs and bringing coordination and cooperation among various stakeholder government departments. Her efforts bore fruits when officials from various departments starting coming on one table and discussed about making Punjab tobacco free what followed became golden history of Punjab as Punjab worn the World Health Organisation’s award for it’s effort in tobacco control. Ms Amteshwar was felicitated with many district level awards for her contribution towards tobacco control. Her zeal to work for the people around her, made her contest for Municipal Councilor from Mohali and the respect she earned by her good work made her win the much-opposed election.
It is due to the untiring efforts of Opinder Preet Kaur Gill this year, 2019 on occasion on World No Tobacco Day Generation Saviour Association was felicitated for its contribution towards tobacco control by Department of Health and Family Welfare, Government of Punjab. She has represented her country at various national and international platforms.
The organization is currently raising awareness about the Non-Communicable Diseases which account for 5.87 million deaths every year that are 60% of all the total deaths in India. Ms Gill believes that if these could be addressed adequately, 40–50% of non-communicable disease-related, premature deaths are preventable. Industrialization, socio-economic development, urbanization, changing age structure, changing lifestyles has placed India at a position where it is facing a growing burden of non-communicable diseases. In India, non-communicable diseases (NCDs) accounted for 40% of all hospital stays and 35% of all outpatient visits in 2004. Also, chronic diseases are estimated to account for 53% of all deaths and 44% of disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) lost in 2005. As of 2005, India experienced the “highest loss in potentially productive years of life” worldwide.
One of the biggest causes of NCDs is tobacco usage and unhealthy lifestyle. Tobacco alone causes one death in every six second across the globe. Tobacco is a major preventable cause of death and disease globally. More than ten million people die in India due to tobacco. Taking this high risk factor the organization has tried to inculcate the concept of tobacco free educational institutes and tobacco free public buildings in the region. The organization also initiated the tobacco free mandi concept in Punjab. 5500 youngsters in India initiate the use of tobacco products. To curb this increasing number an initiative called, Children Against Tobacco (CAT) was instituted by the organization under which awareness activities were carried out through school children. It aimed at educating motivating youth and help them understand the ill effects of tobacco, taken in any form and prepare them as ambassadors of health promotion in society. Besides this the organization conducts regular capacity building workshops and regional consultation to discuss the emerging trends and treats in tobacco control.
Opinder Preet Kaur believes that it is her legacy to prevent the present and future generations from the scourge of tobacco. She is trying hard in introducing behavior changes along with pressing upon for policy initiatives. She organizes various nukkad nataks, plays and social gathering for various segments of society so that the message of ill effects of tobacco reaches everyone. She has also authored a book, “Stories of Life and Smoke” that is a narration of her experiences in tobacco control.