Famed sand artist depicts horrors of smoking through sculpture on 'World No Tobacco Day'
On the occasion of World No Tobacco Day, which is observed annually on May 31 by the World Health Organisation (WHO), internationally renowned sand artist Sudarshan Patnaik created an anti-smoking sculptor on sand on a beach in Odisha.
Rllies were also organised in Andhra Pradesh to spread awareness about the horrendous effects of smoking.
Patnaik's 5-feet high and 20-feet long sand sculpture, which was made with seven tons of sand, depicted the harmful effects of tobacco consumption
As people gathered to have a glimpse of his artistic message, Patnaik said that his main motive was to inspire smokers to quit the harmful habit.
"It is very sad that despite being aware that we are consuming poison, we still do it and push our future into darkness. And, our youngsters also see and learn the same. That is why we have created this sculpture at the beach for visitors to see the horrific effects of smoking," he said.
Elsewhere, in Visakhapatnam, hundreds of people marched with placards and balloons to spread the no-tobacco message.
They urged the government to increase the tax on tobacco as a deterrent for consumers.
Participants echoed the harmful effects of tobacco and its ability to cause cancer.
"Every year millions of people are dying because of smoking. In every cigarette there is a lot of nicotine that makes the man addicted for continuous smoking. This is very dangerous. Families are destroyed, finances are destroyed, they are not able to concentrate on their regular work. I am happy that Mahatama Gandhi Cancer Institute has come out to bring awareness to the public today," said Vice-Chancellor of Andhra University, GSN Raju.
According to WHO reports, tobacco is the second major cause of death in the world, currently responsible for the death of one in 10 adults worldwide or about 5 million deaths each year.
Women make up about 20 percent of the world's 1 billion smokers, but if current tobacco usage continues, smoking will kill 8 million people a year by 2030 - among whom 2.5 million will be women.
Only half of the nations in the Asia-Pacific have bans on tobacco advertising.