Over 150 students from different schools wrote to Kareena
New Delhi:
Students from various schoolsacross Delhi have written postcards to Bollywood actressKareena Kapoor urging her not to promote smoking in her filmHeroine.
As a part of HRIDAY's (Health Related InformationDissemination Amongst Youth) ongoing campaign againstdepiction of tobacco use in films, over 150 students fromdifferent schools wrote to the 31-year-old actress.
They urged her to refrain from showing tobacco use in allher upcoming films including Heroine, which releasestomorrow.
Sohini Chakrabarty, a class 8 student, requested Kareenato exercise her power as a role model wisely.
Vibhuti, another student, wrote to her that being a rolemodel for the youth, especially girls across the country,Kareena is sending out a misleading message of experimentingwith smoking on screen.
Studies have proved that depiction of tobacco use infilms leaves an adverse impact on the public, especially womenand children and many teenagers light their first cigarette oruse their first tobacco product after watching their favouriteactor use tobacco on-screen.
A first of its kind study conducted by HRIDAY has foundthat Indian adolescents who are exposed to tobacco use inBollywood films are twice as likely to be tobacco users.
There is also a very high prevalence of tobacco use amongIndian women with nearly 20 per cent of them using thesubstance in one form or the other.
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has alreadyissued a notification regulating the depiction of tobacco usein films.
HRIDAY had also written to Heroine director MadhurBhandarkar urging him to abide by the notification and gavereference of movies who have already complied to it.
In India, high prevalence of tobacco consumption is oneof the major challenges to health and about 2,700 Indians dieevery day from tobacco use.
HRIDAY research has shown that 5,500 youth in India startusing tobacco daily and a survey on tobacco use among young -the Global Youth Tobacco Survey 2009, reveals that nearly 15per cent of youth currently use tobacco in India.
As a part of HRIDAY's (Health Related InformationDissemination Amongst Youth) ongoing campaign againstdepiction of tobacco use in films, over 150 students fromdifferent schools wrote to the 31-year-old actress.
They urged her to refrain from showing tobacco use in allher upcoming films including Heroine, which releasestomorrow.
Sohini Chakrabarty, a class 8 student, requested Kareenato exercise her power as a role model wisely.
Vibhuti, another student, wrote to her that being a rolemodel for the youth, especially girls across the country,Kareena is sending out a misleading message of experimentingwith smoking on screen.
Studies have proved that depiction of tobacco use infilms leaves an adverse impact on the public, especially womenand children and many teenagers light their first cigarette oruse their first tobacco product after watching their favouriteactor use tobacco on-screen.
A first of its kind study conducted by HRIDAY has foundthat Indian adolescents who are exposed to tobacco use inBollywood films are twice as likely to be tobacco users.
There is also a very high prevalence of tobacco use amongIndian women with nearly 20 per cent of them using thesubstance in one form or the other.
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has alreadyissued a notification regulating the depiction of tobacco usein films.
HRIDAY had also written to Heroine director MadhurBhandarkar urging him to abide by the notification and gavereference of movies who have already complied to it.
In India, high prevalence of tobacco consumption is oneof the major challenges to health and about 2,700 Indians dieevery day from tobacco use.
HRIDAY research has shown that 5,500 youth in India startusing tobacco daily and a survey on tobacco use among young -the Global Youth Tobacco Survey 2009, reveals that nearly 15per cent of youth currently use tobacco in India.
