Tura, May 24: In a run up to the World No Tobacco Day celebrations on May 31, a series of activities were held across North Garo Hills district on Tuesday.
Various schools within the district rallied round the streets to raise awareness on environmental impacts of tobacco and to draw attention of the young and old against the harmful effects of tobacco through signature campaigns.
The campaign is being held by the departments of education and health in tandem with Sambandh Health Foundation (SHF), a Gurugram – based NGO to create awareness on how tobacco is damaging the environment.
In line with this year’s theme “Tobacco: threat to environment”, Deputy Commissioner, RP Marak said “tobacco is not only harmful to human beings, it is also damaging the environment. The very high usage of tobacco causes death and disease and puts a heavy burden on families. The Tobacco Free Educational Institutions (ToFEI) program works with youth and will change the attitude of the population towards tobacco and reduce usage.”
Dr Lana L Nongbri, state nodal officer, NTCP said it has been a record breaking observation of WNTD in the state. Schools from every block in the district are participating and students are sensitising thousands of people in the community. This campaign will surely make a dent in the alarming level of tobacco use in the state. 47% of adults use tobacco and even among 13-15 years old, it was found that 34% use tobacco by the Global Tobacco Youth Survey (GYTS 2019).
Meanwhile, similar activities were also held at Ampati in South West Garo Hills as part of the World No Tobacco Day celebration on May 31.
Students from various schools from the district took out rallies against tobacco and held signature campaigns in their attempt to make people aware of the dangers of tobacco and stop its use.
