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IFIA Magazine
March 2023
Smoke-Free Bengaluru Beyond:
Dr Vishal Rao’s Contribution to
Public Health
Dr Inv. Vishal Rao is a well-known name in the field of public health and
tobacco control in India. He is the Director of Health Care at the IFIA
Bharat and the founder of the ‘Voice of Tobacco Victims’ campaign. Dr Rao
has been actively working towards creating awareness about the harmful
effects of tobacco and promoting tobacco control measures in India.
One of Dr Rao’s most notable achievements is his contribution to the
‘Smoke-Free Bengaluru campaign. This campaign was launched with the
aim of strengthening the implementation of smoke-free laws and protecting
non-smokers from the harmful effects of passive smoking. Dr Rao played
a key role in this campaign, and his efforts have been instrumental in its
success.
Under the leadership of Dr. Rao, the ‘Smoke-Free’ Bengaluru campaign has
been able to increase compliance with smoke-free laws in public places.
The campaign has also been successful in reducing smoking in public plac-
es by 5.2% and increasing the display of ‘No Smoking’ signage by 51.9%.
These achievements earned campaign recognition from the World
Health Organization (WHO) on 15.03.2023.
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