To protect students attending school, a group of educators and principals from schools across the country have called for a campaign against false information regarding new-age tobacco products like e-cigarettes and e-hookahs. Teachers Against Vaping has demanded in a letter to Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan the institutionalization of communication programs to educate teachers, parents, and kids about the recent legal clarifications that forbid the manufacture, sale, and even possession of e-cigarettes, as well as to raise awareness about the harmful effects of e-cigarettes in all their forms.
Teachers Perspective
Teachers express great concern that foreign tobacco companies, in their quest for new markets, are spreading false information that presents modern e-cigarettes as safer or less harmful than traditional cigarettes.
"There is serious concern over the alarming rise in e-cigarettes, vaping devices, and heat-not-burn tobacco products, especially when it comes to school-age children in India. The letter stated, "Our children are seriously threatened by the allure of sleek, high-tech vaping devices and false information that these products are less harmful." Upasana Mittal, principal of Raghav Global School in Sector 122, Noida, stated, "We urgently require robust and proactive communication programs aimed at educating children, parents, and educators about the detrimental health effects of these products."
Principal of DPS Gautam Budh Nagar Supriti Chauhan feels that the addiction to electronic nicotine delivery devices and vaping is a plague that has serious consequences for our kids.
"This problem affects not just health issues but also the learning environment in our schools. Even though vaping devices and e-cigarettes are illegal in our nation, it is alarming to propagate false information suggesting they are less dangerous because it preys on the gullibility of school-age children. We must take immediate action to address this problem in order to protect our kids' health as well as their educational path," the speaker stated. The Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes Act, which went into effect in 2019, outlawed e-cigarettes in India.
(With inputs from PTI)
