Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The report of the state health department has revealed that four per cent children chew tobacco at school level. What is more, tobacco is the root cause of cancer in about 54.9 percent males and 17.7 per cent females in the state, as per an Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) report.
Union health ministry studies indicate that consumption of tobacco among the youths is increasingrapidly,leading to experimenting with other forms of substance abuse on the school/college premises.
The studies revealed that 8.5 per cent of Indian studentsaged 13–15 years were using tobacco in some form.
Even more alarming is the fact that over 5,500 children in the country start using tobacco every day. Tobacco use isoften the gateway to more dangerous substances. Most adult users begin duringadolescence and many are able to buy these products easily from shops nearschools, despite existing laws.
Chief Medical and Health Officer (CMHO) Dr Manish Sharma said, “To combat this growing threat, the health department,in association with the school education department, is actively implementing the Tobacco-Free Educational Institute guideline. It provides a structuredguideline to make schools and colleges completely free from tobacco use and sale.”
“It aims to assist schools in adhering to the guidelines, thereby creating ahealthier, tobacco-free environment for students. The manual empowers all thestakeholders to adopt and enforce guidelines that protect students from thedangers of tobacco. The enforcement drive is to enforce section 6(b) of Cigarettesand other Tobacco Products Act(COTPA),2003, which bans sale of tobacco productswithin 100 yards of education institutions and sale of tobacco to or by minors.”
