Mayor K. Chandrika has said that the Thiruvananthapuram city Corporation will take steps to ensure that educational institutions within the city limits are maintained as tobacco-free campuses.
She was inaugurating Tobacco-Free Thiruvananthapuram, a programme launched by the city Corporation, in association with the Department of Health and voluntary agencies, here on Tuesday.
Ms. Chandrika said civic officials were examining the licence of all shops within a 100-yard radius of schools and colleges. She said the Corporation would cancel the trade licence of any such shop found selling tobacco or tobacco products. She said anti-tobacco committees comprising teachers, students and parent-teacher associations were being constituted in all schools and colleges.
The Mayor directed the public to inform the Corporation, the police or the Health department of the sale of tobacco in the neighbourhood of schools. She formally declared all educational institutions as tobacco-free campuses.
S. Pushpalatha, chairperson of the Corporation's standing committee on Health, presided over the meeting. She administered a ‘No Tobacco' pledge to the gathering.
Education standing committee chair K.S. Sheela released ‘No Tobacco' boards to be issued to schools and colleges. Additional District Medical Officer Sheela Joseph delivered the keynote address.
