Smoke Free Organization Declaration Ceremony in ADRA Pursat office

In the Provincial town of Pursat on May 31, World No Tobacco Day, the ADRA smoke free organization march covered the longest distance at 3.5 kilometers.  350 participants walked through town including the large town marketplace, both starting and ending at the ADRA office.  Participants included many government representatives, NGO partners, staff and students. 

The parade was highly attended partly because the two local radio stations had broadcast the announcement of the event multiple times daily for over 10 days free of cost, due to ADRA’s support of the stations with continuous health message broadcasting since 2002. 

HE. Ty Kim Tok, Deputy Governor of the province spoke at the ceremony following the parade and stated, “In the past, cigarettes were very popular as they were offered at wedding ceremonies, offered to monks, and used in other ceremonies.  However, now, due to the modern technology, we found that the cigarette is a weapon that kills a lot of people in the world.  The death toll is one of the highest.  So I really appreciate this declaration ceremony and I would like to see more Smoke Free organization declarations in the future.”