World No Tobacco Day: Sand Artist Sundarsan Pattnaik Makes Thought Provoking Sculpture In Odisha

World No Tobacco Day is celebrated every year on May 31 to highlight the harmful and deadly effects of consuming tobacco products. India's most famous sand artist who also is a Padma Shri awardee has made an incredibly intricate and thought provoking sand sculpture to warn people about harmful effects of tobacco.

Sundarsan Pattnaik on a beach in Odisha has created a large skeleton that is resting on many large cigarette butts. He posted the image on Twitter with the caption, “On the occasion of #WorldNoTobaccoDay. My SandArt at Puri beach in Odisha, India Say #NoTobacco."

The post has received a lot of attention on social media with it being retweeted more than 4,000 times along with having over 35,000 likes. The artist also posted a video of the entire sculpture where you can see how large and intricate the design is.

The theme for World No Tobacco Day 2022 is “Protect The Environment”. The main objective is to garner more attention from people towards the harmful impact of tobacco on the environment.

Pesticides, fertilisers, and a lot of water go into the process of cultivating tobacco. Furthermore, its smoke releases a variety of dangerous greenhouse gases, which contribute to global warming. Tobacco cultivation has also led to deforestation, which is not a healthy sign.

Tobacco use is not only harmful to people's health but it also to the environment in a variety of ways. Preventing the use of tobacco in any form can help us avoid its harmful health effects while also protecting the environment.