The Malabar Cancer Care Society (MCCS) here plans to rope in students in its drive against tobacco, drugs, and alcohol as part of its initiatives to create cancer awareness.
The society, one of the nodal agencies of the State government and a collaborative centre of the World Health Organisation and the United Nations Population Fund and other agencies, plans to organise forums against tobacco, drugs, and alcohol in selected 100 schools and colleges in the district with the participation of the students.
Each forum will comprise 25 students who will be imparted basic training by the society. The students will undertake awareness and action programmes in the community and their respective institutions to ensure effective implementation of the Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act 2003.
Each forum will be supervised by the head of the institution concerned and a teacher. The forum will have two students as convener and joint convener.
Training to be given
Society president D. Krishnanadha Pai said the activities of the forums would be carried out with the cooperation of the district administration. Forum members would be given training in testing blood pressure and diabetes, and the society would provide them with the necessary equipment.
The scheme envisages awards for best forums and best teachers and students associated with the activities of the forums. In the second phase, the forums will conduct surveys covering the students in schools to free the campuses from the menace of tobacco, drugs, and alcohol in three months. This will be followed up by another survey covering parents to identify those addicted to tobacco, drugs, or alcohol and persuade them to quit the habit through awareness. The activities will then be extended to villages.
Collector's plea
District Collector Anand Singh has urged schools to form the forums and extend all support to their activities. He said the use of drugs and alcohol was on the rise among students. The forums would go a long way in providing effective health care delivery to the rural population in addition to curbing the menace of tobacco, drugs, and alcohol.
The society is in the forefront of initiatives to control cancer in the region. It is implementing the Sanjeevani Mobile Telemedicine Project, the pilot project of the Union Ministry of Information Technology, for the benefit of the rural population.
