Koolimadu is a village in

Chathamangalam Chathamangalam is a village in Kozhikode district of Kerala state, India. Geography Chathamangalam is a gram panchayat is an agricultural village comprising hills, valleys, and paddy fields. It spreads over 40.23 km2 and 20 km east ...

Gram panchayat Gram Panchayat () is a basic village-governing institute in Indian villages. It is a democratic structure at the grass-roots level in India. It is a political institute, acting as cabinet of the village. The Gram Sabha work as the general bod ...

in the

Kozhikode district Kozhikode (), or Calicut district, is one of the 14 districts in the Indian state of Kerala, along its Southwestern Malabar Coast. The city of Kozhikode, also known as Calicut, is the district headquarters. The district is 67.15% urbanised. ...

, state of

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

.This village is known as India's first anti-tobacco village.

Anti Tobacco Initiative

Koolimadu is the first tobacco-free village in

. With the district administration declaring it tobacco-free, smoking has been banned in this tiny hamlet and people run the risk of being excommunicated for a day if they do not respect the ban.''India Today'', 15 December 1996 The village is located on the bank of

Chaliyar Chaliyar River is the fourth longest river in Kerala at 169 km in length. The Chaliyar is also known as Chulika River, Nilambur River or Beypore River as it nears the sea. Pothukal, Chungathara, Nilambur, Mampad, Edavanna, Kavanoor, Pera ...

around 3 kilometers away from

Mavoor Mavoor is a town situated in Kozhikode district in Kerala, India. It is 19 km away from Kozhikode city. Etymology The former name of Mavur was Pulpparambu, or "hayfields" in Malayalam, as grass for thatching houses was stored in ...

and 25 kilometers away from

Kozhikode Kozhikode (), also known in English as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. It has a corporation limit population of 609,224 and a metropolitan population of more than 2 million, making it the second la ...

. Koolimadu was declared tobacco free on 11 January 1995, after a year-long campaign that managed to rope in all sections of society. The spark to ban tobacco was lit in a small local club, Akshara, in early 1994. During a routine meeting, a member lit up a cigar. The others present immediately protested, and with tempers running high, club office-bears slapped a ban on smoking on Akshara premises. Soon, another member suggested, "Why can’t we make the entire village tobacco free?" That suggestion found many takers in the club, marking the beginning of a novel mission at the village, under the Chathamangalam gram panchayat. Akshara took the initiative to tell the villagers about the evils of pan masala and smoking. "We held a door-to-door campaign, distributed pamphlets and roped in doctors to conduct classes," says club spokesperson Abdul Majeed. With several middle-aged chain smokers at Koolimadu dying of lung diseases and oral cancer in the early 90s, their call for a ban found many takers. The club members claim they weaned away many who were at a risk of contracting smoking-related diseases. Soon local traders agreed to join the campaign, Majeed says, and they haven't looked back since. However, he admits, the going hasn't been easy. "We have to guard against the danger of addicts relapsing to their old ways. At the same time, the younger generation has to be checked," Majeed says. Then there are new visitors who have to be told about Koolimadu's unofficial ban on tobacco. The bus junction sports several banners and boards telling first-time visitors about the same. Some results of the blanket ban may be visible on the health front. "Earlier, Koolimadu reported cases of respiratory inflammation, bronchitis and asthma. Due to passive smoking, even children were affected. Now such cases have become rarer," claims Dr K Alikkutty, a resident of Koolimadu since 1988.

Transportation

The nearest cities to the village are

, Mukkom and Areakode.

References

{{Kozhikode district Villages in Kozhikode district

Anti Tobacco Initiative

Transportation

See also

References