At the age of 17, when regular students play video games or are busy scrolling the internet, a class 12 student decided to invest his leisure time on significant things. Manav Gandhi, a resident of Ghatkopar, after coming across the statistics and conditions among the youth with respect to their usage of tobacco through newspapers and media, created a social initiative all by himself, called – Anti-Smoking and Anti- Tobacco Awareness and Pledge. This initiative is for the age group of 15 to 20. According to Gandhi, him being in the same age group, it becomes easier for other youth to connect and understand, followed by reciprocating to the things that he conveys. "I know there are several campaigns for a tobacco-free nation but it is run by and for the adults. It is a fact that the habit of consumption of tobacco, in every form, is implanted in the mind of an individual at a young age," said Gandhi, who is currently doing International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma from Dhirubhai Ambani International School at Bandra. He added, "This age group is flexible and seeing me as their speaker or a guide, who belongs to their age group, it becomes easier to connect. More than me connecting to them, them connecting to me is paramount." Gandhi, till date, has made around 8,000 students take the pledge across schools in Mumbai. His target is students who are in classes five to ten. Once he gets the authorisation from school officials, Gandhi visits the school in his free time, talk to the students, ask them questions and build a comfortable environment for them. "I establish the fact that I am a student and their friend and then proceed with my session. After the interaction, a short-film is showed to them which is created by Ashwavedh Foundation which is followed by a question-answer session," said Gandhi. Through the interaction, Gandhi inspires the students to be away from peer-pressure. "Often smoking is glorified in a way that students get attracted to it. Peer-pressure is contagious. I establish the fact that, in any case, smoking is injurious – biologically, physically and mentally," Gandhi explained. He plans to bring more people in his social initiative, who he will train to take the project further on a large scale. "I love this initiative as it can bring in good impact on students. But at the same time, I have my studies too. Maybe I will train someone who can, with me, take this forward, together," he added. HIGH IN ACTION

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