The programme started with a small play performed by the students of DAV Public School, Mohali. The play showed how a student from a low income group family is caught in the quagmire of smoking cigarettes and becomes addicted to other drugs related to tobacco. The end result is that the boy tries to leave the habit but is unable to do so and finally succumbs to the effects of the drugs.

The play was an effort to show how tobacco affects the human body, the condition of a person addicted to it and those who care for him. Praising the play and the efforts of the Association, Vineeta Rai stated that according to figures available, over a million people die every year due to smoking and about seven million deaths are caused by tobacco misuse. She said that there had been a marked increase, 46-63 per cent in the number of tobacco users over the past couple of years and that India has become the third largest producer and user of tobacco.

Towards the end of the programme, a number of prizes were given out to students from various schools who had participated in the different competitions organised by the Association. Also, advisory kits received from the World Health Organisation were distributed among the guests.

A poster, with "Cigarette smoking is injurious to your family - prevention is must": as the motto, was released by the Indian Council for Environmental Education today at the DAV Senior Secondary School, Sector-8.

The poster was released to mark the World No-tobacco day. Addressing the gathering, Ravinder Talwar, principal of the School, stressed the need to curb the habit of smoking. He said tobacco, in any form, injures ones health and also causes health hazards for non-smokers through air pollution.

He highlighted the fact that as many as eight lakh people in India die due to the harmful effects of tobacco. The need to quit smoking was stressed on the occasion.

S.D. Senior Secondary School, Sector 24, today organised a function to mark World No-Tobacco Day.

On this occasion, about 200 children of various classes took out a march to spread the message, "Cigarrette smoking is injurious to health. Stop it."