THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Labour Minister TP Ramakrishnan said it is the government’s responsibility to weed out the drug mafia. Inaugurating the state-level programmes marking World No Tobacco Day, the minister said public intervention is also necessary to prevent the drug mafia from spreading its tentacles. T P Ramakrishnan said there is a dip in the number of tobacco users in the state.
“Though the government has taken stringent action to tackle the menace, drug dealers have employed newer and newer methods to carry out the illegal trade. After the LDF Government came to power, as many as 18,000 such cases were reported and it shows the immediate need to spread awareness among the public,” he said.
Mayor V K Prasanth delivered the World No Tobacco Day message and released the anti-drug advertisement. Rishiraj Singh, Excise Commissioner; D Rajeev, chief executive officer, Vimukthi Mission; and Shiju Stanley took part. Prizes for the winners of anti-tobacco short film competition were distributed by the minister.
‘Vidya’ directed by students of Mar Baselios College of Engineering And Technology, Ernakulam won the first prize while St Joseph’s College of Nursing, Anchal, Kollam; Nirmala College of Pharmacy, Muvattupuzha; and Mar Athanasius College, Kothamangalam shared the second prize.