Armed with parodies on famous brands of cigarettes and gutkhas and catchy slogans -- like `A cigarette a day calls a doctor everyday'; `What is a Cigarette? Fire at one end and a fool at another'; `Je piye bidi te chade rogo ni sidi'; Tamari jindgi ne cigarettena dhumadama na udado -- Health Forum, a voluntary organisation, has drawn up an extensive list of programmes to celebrate `World No-tobacco Day' that falls on May 31.

The forum in collaboration with the Swaminarayan Akshrpurushottam Sansthan, the Susanskar Deep Mandal, the Manav Utthan Seva Samiti, Sarvodaya Mitra Mandal, Sankalp, Akgakhan Health Trust, Surat Jaycees Metro Jr, Jain Social Group, Pranami Mandir, Rotary Club of Roundtown and the Surat Municipal Corporation will organise several functions as part of the celebrations. A meeting of the forum convenors with representatives of these voluntary organisations was held on Sunday. Vernacular newspapers Gujarat Mitra and Nav Gujarat Times have also associated themselves with the celebrations.

On-road counselling, anti-tobacco exhibition, wall painting competition, elocution contest, a vehicle-rally, poster and cartoon competition and essay competition are among the programmes that will be organised on May 31, according to convenors Dr Ketan Jhaveri and Dr Ketan Bharadwa.

The day will begin with an on-road counselling on the road from Baroda Pristage to Varachha, when a band of about 300 volunteers will explain people the hazards of eating or chewing tobacco or smoking cigarettes. Similar programmes will be held in Katargam, Adajan and Ghod Dod Road areas.

An exhibition of posters will be on display at Dilip-Paresh Rotary Hall near T & T V High School from 9.30 am to 4 pm. A wall painting competition will be held in the school premises followed by an elocution competition at the same venue. While Gujarat Mitra will organise a poster and cartoon competition, Navgujarat Times will hold an essay competition. The day will conclude with a rally that will start from the school and culminate at Sardar Chowk in Varachha after winding its way through Parle Point, Ghod Dod Road, Majura Gate, Ring Road and railway station areas.

The convenors said about 1,000 postcards would be posted to the Parivartan Cell started by Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel requesting him to pass a legislation banning gutkha and tobacco in the state. More than 10,000 leaflets would be distributed on May 31.

The leaftlets will drive home the point that consumption of tobacco in any form leads to heart ailments, cancer, gangrine, bronchitis, paralysis among other diseases. The leaflets will have pictures of victims whose faces are disfigured and victims of sub-mucous fibrosis who can't even open their mouth.

The forum has requested the Surat Municipal Corporation to increase octroi on cigarette and tobacco hoping that the prohibitive cost may discourage addicts. They said consumption of gutkha and other tobacco products was very high in Katargam and Varachha areas.