Two ministries of the central government came together to get rid of tobacco addiction, guidelines issued for setting up special centers

New Delhi: On the occasion of ‘World No Tobacco Day’, the Union Ministry of Education and the Union Ministry of Health have issued important guidelines. The Ministry of Education has set a target of making all educational institutions in the country tobacco free, while the Ministry of Health has issued operational guidelines to set up special centers in medical institutions in the country to help people get rid of tobacco addiction. It is estimated that about 13 lakh deaths occur every year due to tobacco and it is also emerging as a serious crisis for public health. Both the ministries have taken this big initiative in this regard.What are the new guidelines of the Central Government?
Sanjay Kumar, Secretary, Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Education, while explaining the importance of these guidelines, said that we all should understand the harmful effects of tobacco on our lives and health. Therefore, we should stay away from it lifelong. In his/her message, he/she said that the data of Global Youth Tobacco Survey 2019 says that 8.5 percent of school-going children in the age group of 13-15 consume tobacco in some form or the other. At the same time, there are many people who start consuming tobacco before the age of 20 and become addicted to it for life. he/she said that strict steps will be taken under the guidelines to make educational institutions tobacco free.

The rule of not selling tobacco products around educational institutions will be strictly followed. In the guidelines prepared by the Ministry, every educational institution will have to put up posters and banners of tobacco free area at prominent places in its campus. Random checking will have to be done in educational institutions. The head of the school will have to choose a person from among the teachers and staff members as a tobacco monitor, who himself does not consume tobacco. This person will help in all the necessary activities to stop the use of tobacco in educational institutions. Any student, teacher or staff member who does good work for tobacco control will also be given a reward. Educational institutions will have to take strict steps.

Big decision of Union Health Ministry
On ‘World No Tobacco Day’, the Union Health Ministry has also taken a big decision and issued operational guidelines to set up special centres (Tobacco cessation centres) in every medical college. Union Health Secretary Apoorva Chandra has said in his/her message that the patients coming to these centres will be given full help so that they can get rid of the tobacco habit. he/she said that the Health Ministry is running many campaigns to minimize deaths due to tobacco. A senior official of the Health Ministry said that there are such centres in dental colleges and now all medical colleges will also have these centres. Patients coming to these centres will be counselled and treated. Along with this, students studying in medical colleges will also get to learn.

WHO award to NIMHANS
The World Health Organization (WHO) has awarded the Bengaluru-based National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS) the Nelson Mandela Award for Health Promotion for 2024. Union Health Minister Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya has congratulated the Bengaluru institute on receiving the award and said that it is a recognition of India’s efforts in the field of inclusive health care. Union Health Secretary Apurva Chandra has also congratulated NIMHANS.