The State Tobacco Control Cell under the Health Department organised a ‘Yellow Line Campaign’ to demarcate a circular area around an educational campus as a tobacco-free zone as part of various interventions to bring down tobacco use.
Taking a cue from the Tobacco Free Educational Institution guidelines (ToFEI) by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the campaign was organised at the Indira Gandhi Institute of Dental Sciences, Kirumampakkam.
A 100 yard circle was marked to sensitise shopkeepers to avoid selling any kind of tobacco products as per the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA) (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 2003.
The National Tobacco Control Programme (NTCP) under the Department of Health and Family Welfare Services and the National Health Mission is under implementation in the Union Territory in a phased manner since 2014-15.
The programme aims to create awareness of the harmful effects of tobacco consumption, reduce the production and supply of tobacco products and ensure effective implementation of the provisions under the COTPA.
The goal is also to help people quit tobacco, facilitate implementation of strategies for prevention and control of tobacco advocated by the WHO Framework Convention of Tobacco Control.
S. Govindarajan, State nodal officer – NTCP/State tobacco officer; Varadharajan, inspector of police, Kirumampakkam police station; and Saravanakumar, principal, Indira Gandhi Institute of Dental Sciences, inaugurated the campaign. Chandrasekaran, nodal officer — tobacco comorbidities; Vikneshan, reader, Indira Gandhi Institute of Dental Sciences; R. Suriya Kumar, State consultant – NTCP; Manimaran, State IEC officer; and Sivashanmugam, a social worker participated.
The students of the Indira Gandhi Institute of Dental Sciences distributed pamphlets and sign boards to shopkeepers near the institute, and emphasised the need to avoid selling tobacco products within 100 yards of educational institutions.
The Tobacco Control Cell has been disseminating information on how tobacco use is a leading cause of premature deaths, non-communicable diseases associated mortality and morbidity and a growing public health challenge.
It is currently responsible for killing one in 12 adults worldwide, while in India 40% of cancer deaths is due to tobacco use. Globally, more than 60 lakh deaths are attributable to tobacco use. In India, tobacco kills more than 10 lakh people every year. The primary risk factor for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease globally is tobacco smoking, awareness literature states.
