Make your environment smoke-free

You may remember the decision taken by the government to prohibit smoking at public places. This is a very appropriate decision as smoking is a bad habit that affects not only those who resort to it, but all those who may be closeby.

The focus of this year's World No Tobacco Day (WNTD), which is observed on May 31, is similar as the theme is 'Smoke-free Environments'. Implementing 100 per cent smoke-free environments is deemed the only effective measure to protect the public, including women and children, and people at their workplaces, from being exposed to tobacco smoke from other people.

Inhaling tobacco smoked by other people or second-hand tobacco smoke (SHS) is known to be carcinogenic (cancer causing) in humans. It can also cause heart diseases and other serious respiratory and cardiovascular diseases in both children and adults, even resulting in death. This is all the more dangerous because it could take place anywhere; in one's home, workplace or any public place.

According to World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates, around 700 million children (almost 50 per cent of the world's children) breathe air that has been polluted by tobacco smoke, especially at their homes.

A survey among students between the ages of 13 and 15 in 132 countries, conducted from 1999-2005, revealed that 43.9 per cent had been exposed to second-hand tobacco smoke at home; 55.8 per cent had been exposed to second-hand tobacco smoke in public places. Of the participants in the survey, 76.1 per cent expressed support for banning smoking in public places.

The International Labour Organization says at least 200,000 workers die annually from being exposed to SHS at work. And there are no acceptable levels of smoke inhalation either; ventilation or filtration cannot do much to prevent people from inhaling smoke.

Smoking inside the workplace not only affects the health of the workers, but also results in higher medical costs, productivity losses, higher renovation and cleaning costs, increased risk of fire and even higher insurance premiums.

It's a well-known fact that most smokers start this habit in their teenage years. There has been an increase in smoking in low-income countries and the WHO estimates that 70 per cent of the deaths from smoking will occur in these countries. The worldwide death toll from tobacco, which now stands at five million a year, is expected to double to 10 million a year by 2030.

Many countries that have introduced legislation to ban smoking in public places have seen lowered levels of tobacco consumption. Introducing laws isn't enough however, they must be implemented as well.

Some countries have successfully implemented laws that require almost all indoor workplaces and public places to be 100 per cent smoke-free. Another important step is to make people aware of the dangers of active and passive smoking and encourage them to give up. Education plays a large role in this regard.

Peacekeepers of the world

All of you are likely to have heard about the United Nations. But how many of you know about the UN Peacekeeping Forces? They are forces personnel derived from UN member states and deployed to conflict areas in different parts of the world to maintain peace. Many have died during operations, far away from their motherlands.

Such personnel are honoured on May 29, which is the International Day of UN Peacekeepers. The day was declared by the UN General Assembly in 2002, to pay tribute to all the men and women who have served and continue to serve in UN peacekeeping operations, for their high level of professionalism, dedication and courage, and to honour the memory of those who have lost their lives in the cause of peace.

All UN member states, organisations of the UN system, non-governmental organisations and individuals have been invited to observe this day in an appropriate manner.

One of the prime objectives of the United Nations, as declared in its Charter, is "to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war". Its peace operations have been designed with this objective in mind and incorporates three principal activities: conflict prevention and peacemaking, peacekeeping, and peacebuilding. Peacekeeping, the largest and most visible sector, was born almost six decades ago (the first UN peacekeeping mission was established at the UN Headquarters in New York in 1948), and has evolved rapidly in the past 15 years.