World No Tobacco Day To Focus On Educating Students in Punjab
Author(s): City Air NewsChandigarh, May 14, 2015: The Punjab Health Department would launch state wide campaign in all schools, colleges, Technical Institutes, Medical Institutes to educate students regarding ill effects of tobacco and...
cityairnews
May 14, 2015 12:30
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Chandigarh, May 14, 2015: The Punjab Health Department would launch state wide campaign in all schools, colleges, Technical Institutes, Medical Institutes to educate students regarding ill effects of tobacco and strictly implement the cigarettes and other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA) in and around Educational Institutes.
Vini Mahajan Principal Secretary, Health has conveyed a detailed time table of the campaign to C. Roul, Principal Secretary, School Education, Dr. Roshan Sunkaria, Principal Secretary Higher Education and Pardeep Kumar Agrawal, Director General School Education that would begin on May 31st, 2015, the World No Tobacco Day and requested them to sensitize the Principals and Teachers to make this programme a great success. She said that Health department has decided to focus on educating students as they were vulnerable to the addiction of tobacco and this preventive campaign has been designed to educate them regarding the ill effects of tobacco. She said that to involve the students in this campaign all schools and colleges have been asked to start anti tobacco signature campaign. She said that they should also be motivated to organize seminars, debates and form human chain in their respective cities to generate awareness among the masses regarding ill effects of tobacco. She said that all Principals must be advised to ensure that there was no tobacco selling outlet within the 200 mts of education institutes. She said that they have also been advised to chalans to those tobacco sellers who were selling loose cigarettes to children below 18 years.
She also said that awareness campaign on 28-29th May 2015 is to be launched in all the districts through loudspeaker campaigns etc. at the ground level. Under this campaign, strict checking of compliance of Section 6 of COTPA - The cigarettes and other Tobacco Products in all government & private educational institutes will be done. Institutional heads are asked to check shops within 100 yards of their boundary & ensure compliance of Section 6 of COTPA. In all educational institutes, a nodal officer should be appointed whose name is displayed prominently on the signage outside the school. Awareness rallies at district, tehsil level& block level will be organized under this campaign. She also said that this exercise would give a boost to save our youth from the harmful effects of tobacco.
A communiqué has also been circulated by Director General of School Education to all District Education Officers and heads of all Senior, High and Middle & Primary Schools to make all educational institutes as “Tobacco Smoke Free”. Also, a communiqué has been dispatched to all heads of departments to implement Section 4 & 6 of Tobacco Control Act effectively.
Giving further information in this regard she said that Punjab Health Minister Surjit Kumar Jayani had recently reviewed the current status of COTPA and asked to escalate the process in this regard. She said that Minister also asked the authorities concerned to seek active participation of all the public departments and civil society including social and religious organizations to witness forceful implementation of Anti-Tobacco law COTPA across the state.
Notifications for the cancellation of licenses of commercial establishments in case of violation of COTPA have been issued besides imposing a ban on flavored/scented tobacco. E-cigarettes have also been declared as illegal with a complete ban on loose cigarettes/tobacco. She said it has also been notified to ban on tobacco shops within 100 yards of educational/religious institutes. She said that instructions have also been issued to Vice Chancellors of all varsities to ensure their campuses and colleges tobacco free.
Date:
Thursday, May 14, 2015
