Tobacco Awareness Programmes


Theatre Against Tobacco  

Theatre Against Tobacco, a popular interactive 30-minute Hindi skit, teaches children about the ills of tobacco. This programme has been designed as a first intervention to give children basic information on the ills of tobacco use. The slapstick comedy and topical format of the play has helped maintain a strong presence in schools. The play is even more memorable because of its film songs. Theatre Against Tobacco has completed 977 shows of this play reaching out to 2,09,315 children from 307 schools and 22 NGOs all over Mumbai over the last 9 years. We are working towards completing 1000 shows in 2006.

Project Super Army








Std VIII

Project SUPER ARMY is an innovative programme that empowers students to fight the war against tobacco using unique weapons like art, theatre and music created by the children through various workshops conducted in these schools. In the academic year 2004 - 2005, it has been successfully implemented in 6 municipal secondary schools across the city of Mumbai . The programme had worked with 2023 young soldiers, aged 13 to 15 years. In the second year i.e. 2005-2006 the Super Army added 10,000 students from over 23 schools. We propose to work with 29 schools in the year 2006-2007

The project creates awareness in children on tobacco and introduces them to the concept of refusal skills. It has also initiates leadership, group representation and decision-making. The project attempts to give children a sense of belonging and a better self-image, both of which are central issues in substance abuse. Children are a part of the tobacco problem. Project SUPER ARMY makes them a part of the solution.

The young soldiers of SUPER ARMY have realized that each citizen has a role to play. They have urged citizens to dedicate their lives to saving children. Bahadur desh par jaan deta hai… tambaku par nahin. The posters, skits and songs that have emerged from this project will now travel around the city to spread the message against tobacco.

The young soldiers drafted a charter of demands for the Government, citizens and children.

STD IX

The 2023 children from the Std VIII moved to the Std IX where the Super Army programme took a different approach. The adolescents are growing without any information on the changes they go through. The society is also not open to discuss the physical, social, emotional and cognitive changes that the teenager is growing through. Understanding the confusion of the children and the importance of an open discussion a session on changes in adolescents was taken that was a platform for the children to talk openly about a taboo issue. Goal setting, Problem solving, decision making, responsibility and the addiction issue was also taken.




Hero Ya Zero

Hero Ya Zero, the exhibition that was inaugurated on July 15, 2003 at the Nehru centre by renowned playback singer, Mr. Sudesh Bhosle. The exhibition educates children on tobacco. It teaches children about the harmful effects of tobacco use and the Tobacco Law that protects children. It also provides information on how to quit the habit. Interactive games, discussion, music and film are used to teach students. The exhibition comprises of a series of posters that is manned by youth who have been trained to interact with students and be positive role models.

This programme has reached out to over 48 schools and 18,978 children over the last two years. The exhibition continues to travel from school to school, teaching children Hero har dum aagey badhta hai, Zero tambaku ki phansi par chadta hai!



The Smiling Flower Campaign

On August 1, 2002 , the Maharashtra government banned the manufacture, transport, sale and distribution of gutkha and pan masala. This ban was expected to protect future generations from one of the biggest hazards to health and life.

Following the ban, the movement against gutkha needed a voice and visibility. Salaam Bombay Foundation was approached to create a media campaign to enlist public support for the ban and to make children the change agents for tobacco control advocacy.

The smiling flower was created as a symbol of a State where children can bloom and grow without the threat of gutkha. It was presented to the children of Mumbai at the Wankhede Stadium during the India-West Indies cricket match on Oct 9, 2002




The postcard campaign

Across the city, smiling flower postcards were made available in restaurants, bookstores and departmental stores. Citizens were encouraged to participate in the campaign by drawing the smiling flower and signing a postcard as a token of their support to a gutkha-free state. The movement gathered a lot of momentum with prominent citizens drawing the smiling flower and signing postcards to show their support to gutkha-free Maharashtra .

On January 27, 2003 , the Gutkha-Free State Wall of Fame, a display of postcards signed by celebrities was launched with the Government of Maharashtra at Tendulkar's Restaurant, Colaba. It was launched the Indian cricketer, Rahul Dravid. The Wall of Fame showcased a host of postcards signed by some of the country's most illustrious names. It has subsequently traveled to other renowned restaurants of the city and has received much attention.




The School Campaign

The same campaign was extended to schools and colleges across the State. Students showed their support by signing for “A Gutkha-free Future” and “A Gutkha-free State ”. Over 100,000 students, from 165 schools and colleges, in the age group of 10 to 17 years from across the State participated in this activity .




Life Skills Training

Vijaypath





Due to the lack of exposure to vocational options, Municipal school children have a limited view of what they can do after they finish school. Moreover, they lack the motivation to complete their schooling, as they perceive no benefit from their education. Understanding this problem Salaam Bombay Foundation has initiated a new programme called Vijaypath to work with students in their last year to give them some direction when they leave school. The programme has been conducted with the students in Class 10 in 5 Municipal Schools. The programme comprises of personality development issues like adolescence and its changes, stress management, value education and family life education with an emphasis on career guidance, psychological testing and individual counseling. A career exhibition was organized for all the children to expose them to the wide range of work opportunities that are now available. Some children were also taken for a field visit to Mac Donalds and Big Bazar to understand different work environments. Here children got a chance to interact with employees, understand the work profile and the growth opportunities available to them. Effort was made to motivate the students to pursue further education to improve their job prospects.

Sophia College Municipal School Project

Salaam Bombay Foundation continued its partnership with the Sophia College for Women to conduct coaching camps for children in two Municipal Secondary Schools. The programme was originally designed for English, Science and Mathematics coaching. A new dimension of personality development covering issues like adolescence and its changes, stress management, value education and family life education has also been added to make this a more holistic programme.

Salaam Bombay Cricket Academy





The Salaam Bombay Cricket Academy has been instituted to seek talent in Municipal school children, children from difficult socio-economic backgrounds and to give them a lifetime opportunity to be a part of a world-class cricket experience.

The project will help recognize talent in a section of society that could only aspire to play ‘galli-nukkad' cricket before this. It will give these children an opportunity to consider sport as a vocation.

This project will also instill the belief that to live your dreams you have to work hard. Achievement comes from perspiration and not from substance abuse.

Children will be encouraged to find role models and heroes within themselves and not merely in false idols of fashion and glamour.

The children will not only train to play at test cricket standards but will also learn life skills like focus, leadership, stress management, concentration, emotion management and teamwork that will help them through cricket but more importantly through life.

80 children from 14 Municipal Schools have been selected in the first year to be trained Hindu Gymkhana under the able coaching of first class cricket coach, Mr Ashok Vinoo Mankad.




Flood Relief





Calamity struck Mumbai when the cloudburst on the 26 th of July, 2005 , resulted in severe flooding of suburban areas of the city. Needless to say, this rain left a lot of people homeless, lots of people lost all their household things, food, clothes and all of it. That's when Salaam Bombay Foundation stepped in to their bit. Appeals were sent out for clothes, books, food packets. The response has been overwhelming. We were able to collect enough food supplies for 428 families at Garib Nagar and Indira Nagar in the Bandra (E) slums. Clothing and beddings was also supplied to over 100 families there. Our team personally ensured that the supplies have been handed over the worst affected in each area. Books, stationary and school supplies were distributed to 5000 affected children in 20 municipal schools.