The greatest cricketer ever to hold a cricket bat, Sachin Tendulkar has been appointed as the ‘Smile Ambassador’ of the Maharashtra Government’s campaign ‘Swachh Mukh Abhiyan’.
The Maharashtra government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Sachin for five years, giving him the important responsibility of spreading awareness of this initiative as a goodwill ambassador.
The signing of this MOU was followed by the Department of Medical Education’s launched Oral Health Mission. Oral illnesses and mouth cancer are becoming more common among young people in recent years as a result of several addictions, including those to gutkha, betel nuts, fragrant betel nuts, tobacco, etc.
The government believed that more people needed to be informed of this. Following this, the little master decided to serve as a free brand ambassador for the Maharashtra government. As part of this partnership, Sachin would state public education regarding oral health and the precise places of the camps on behalf of the Maharashtra government.
On the association, Sachin said, “When I started playing for India, I had just come out of school. I started getting many advertisement offers but my father told me never to promote tobacco products. I got many such offers but never accepted any of them. As I grew older, I became more aware of the need to be disciplined about my fitness since I realised that it won’t be possible to achieve your goals if you are not fit. Fifty per cent of the children have oral diseases, and it impacts their life. But nobody is bothered about it. Such a thing can damage their confidence.”