Patna, Feb. 4: He might have made beedi smoking look stylish on screen, but filmstar-turned-MP Shatrughan Sinha, popularly known as Shotgun, advised his followers to avoid the dangerous practice at any cost.

Addressing college girls in the state capital today, the BJP leader asked them to tell their fathers and brothers to stop consuming tobacco products as it leads to cancer.

Speaking on the occasion of World Cancer Day, Sinha also entertained girl students with his film dialogues at Ganga Devi Mahila Mahavidyalaya in Kankerbagh.

Sinha asked all the students to take a pledge to make the city tobacco free. “I want every person sitting over here to make a promise that very soon we will make this city tobacco free and this can only be done if there is strong will power like me. Even I used to smoke a lot but my daughter Sonakshi played a significant role in making me quit the habit. She would sit next to me when I used to smoke and keep telling me to quit this bad habit. One day I decided that I will never touch cigarettes again.”

He added: “It is very much possible to quit smoking and other habits like chewing tobacco, gutkha and paan-masala. There are more than 10 lakh people affected with cancer and over five lakh dying from it. We have to make our state and country free from cancer because health of the nation is the wealth of the nation.”

Sinha told the students that they could play a very significant role in bringing down tobacco consumption.

“There are people with the habit of smoking and chewing tobacco in every house and you can ask them to quit it. Once you get married you can tell your husband that you don’t want any gift, just quit the bad habit and that would be my gift of the year,” Sinha said. He warned that there is a prediction that in 2020, most of the people will die in this world because of tobacco-related diseases, “so better quit right now”.

Director of the Mahavir Cancer Sansthan, Jitendra Kumar Singh advised the students to be alert about cervical and breast cancer. He said: “Cervical and breast cancer cases are becoming common now. If the case is detected early, it can be treated. Seventy per cent cases of cervical and breast cancer can be cured if detected at an early stage. We have to make people aware of the symptoms of the disease.”

He further added: “Science has reached an advanced stage and treatment is very much available. Prevention is better than cure.”

Principal of Ganga Devi Mahila Mahavidyalaya Usha Sinha thanked Sinha for visiting the campus and requested him to build an auditorium on the college premises. At the end of the function, Sinha promised to build the auditorium from his MP fund.

He said: “An auditorium is essential for development of personality as apart from studies, cultural activities are also important for students.”