On 24th September 2024, Union Minister of State (MoS) Prataprao Ganpatrao Jadhav, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) launched the 2nd edition of the ‘Tobacco-Free Youth Campaign 2.0’ at a hybrid event held at Lady Hardinge Medical College in New Delhi, Delhi.
- The key objective of the campaign is to protect the health and well-being of young people from the harmful effects tobacco.
- During the launch event, he virtually inaugurated Tobacco Cessation Centres in medical institutions across India.
Key Dignitaries: Apurva Chandra, Secretary, MoHFW; Puniya Salila, Officer on Special Duty, MoHFW; Dr. Roderico Ofrin, Representative from World Health Organisation (WHO), among others were present at the event.
Note: Around 13 lakh people lose their lives every year due to tobacco in India.
About Tobacco-Free Youth Campaign 2.0:
i.The campaign will run for 60 days and it will focus on providing educational materials, promoting initiatives like enforcement drives and Information, Education and Communication (IEC) activities and establishment of Tobacco-free villages, etc.
ii.The campaign also underscores a ‘whole of government’ approach by fostering partnership and coordination between 7 ministries:
- Ministry of Education (MoE); Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY); Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MoI&B); Ministry of Panchayati Raj; Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD); Ministry of Youth and Sports Affairs (MoY&SA) and Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) as well as law enforcement units.
iii.The launch event of the campaign witnessed the in-person participation of more than 500 people, and many participants joined online.
- Also, over 300 school students from nearby Tobacco-Free Educational Institutions (ToFEI), National Service Scheme (NSS) volunteers from My Bharat initiative participated in the event.
Key Priority Areas of the Campaign:
i.Raise Public Awareness: The campaign focuses on raising public awareness about the harmful effects of tobacco, particularly among youth and rural communities.
ii.Revised ToFEI: The campaign aims to enhance compliance with the revised guidelines for ToFEI to keep schools and colleges free from tobacco.
iii.Strengthening Laws related to Tobacco: The campaign focuses on bolstering the enforcement of tobacco control laws, especially Cigarette and Other Tobacco Products (COTPA) 2003 and the Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes Act (PECA) 2019; to limit the access of tobacco to youth.
iv.Tobacco-Free Villages: The campaign aims to promote Tobacco-Free Villages, where communities work together to eliminate tobacco and create healthier environments.
v.Promote Social-Media Platforms: It involves boosting the social media outreach as these digital platforms can really help to deliver strong messages about the harms of tobacco and the benefits of quitting tobacco to young people.
Key Highlights:
i.All participants present at the event took the ‘Say No To Tobacco’ pledge to remain tobacco-free. Also, some of the renowned celebrities, sportspersons like: Aparshakti Khurana, Manu Bhaker, Navdeep Singh, Gaurav Chaudhary, among others addressed the gathering present at the event.
ii.During the event, 3 important guidelines namely, Health Workers Guide, Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for Villages to be Tobacco Free and the Guidelines for Law Enforcers for Effective Implementations of Tobacco Control Laws were launched.
iii.A bike rally which include two famous biking groups, Harley Owners Group and Delhi Bikers Breakfast Run, was flagged off to spread awareness on the campaign.
- Also, an educational video by WHO was launched at the event. The video aims to sensitize young students about the harmful effects of tobacco use.
Background:
i.The 1st edition of Tobacco Free Youth Campaign was launched by MoHFW on 31st May, 2023, on the occasion of World No Tobacco Day.
ii.The campaign resulted in huge success, with more than 1.42 lakh educational institutions and over 12,000 villages were declared tobacco-free. Also, COTPA 2003 was strictly enforced.
About the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare(MoHFW):
Union Minister- Jagat Prakash Nadda (Rajya Sabha – Gujarat)
Minister of State (MoS)- Anupriya Patel(Constituency- Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh, UP); Prataprao Ganpatrao Jadhav (Constituency- Buldhana, Maharashtra)
