SHILLONG/TURA, May 24: In the run-up to World No Tobacco Day to be observed on May 31, students in Meghalaya have so far exhibited great enthusiasm in spreading awareness on the harm caused by tobacco products to people, public health, communities and the environment.
This year, a campaign is being run by the state Education and Health departments in collaboration with a Gurugram-based NGO, Sambandh Health Foundation (SHF), to generate awareness on how tobacco is damaging the environment.
As part of the campaign, every school must conduct two activities — a rally against tobacco and a signature campaign. Each school has to get its students to create awareness in the community on this year’s theme ‘Tobacco: threat to our environment’. Schools and students have taken up both activities with great enthusiasm.
State Nodal Officer, National Tobacco Control Programme, Dr Lana Nongbri, said, “…schools from every block in all the districts of Meghalaya are participating and students are sensitising thousands of people in the community. (Contd on P-9)
Students exhibit enthusiasm in…
(Contd from P-3) This campaign will surely make a dent in the alarming levels of tobacco use in Meghalaya. 47% of adults in Meghalaya use tobacco and even among 13-15 year olds, it was found by the Global Tobacco Youth Survey (GYTS-2019) that 34% use tobacco (products).”
In April, the Health department sent memes on WhatsApp to the principals and teachers of all the schools on how tobacco harms the environment, which were shared with students.
In the signature campaign, students had to convey the messages on tobacco’s harmful effect on the environment to family, friends and neighbours and get their signatures.
On the other hand, the schools have been organising rallies in public places like market, bus terminus, etc.
The schools which would have had conducted both the rally and the signature campaigns with maximum student participation would be eligible for awards to be given by the National Tobacco Control Program (NTCP), Meghalaya, for each category of schools — Primary, Upper Primary, Secondary and Higher Secondary.
Awards will be given for the best school in each category in each block.
The block-level winners will be eligible for district-level awards and the best from each district will vie for state-level awards.
The state winners will be felicitated on World No Tobacco Day.
“…there are 8,000 deaths caused by tobacco every year in Meghalaya and the state has some of the highest cancer rates in the country. The Tobacco Free Educational Institutions (ToFEI) campaign is becoming a game-changer for reducing tobacco usage. There has been full support from the Deputy Commissioners and police in all districts of Meghalaya,” said Dr Ashima Sarin, Director, Sambandh Health Foundation.
Various events held in GH
In North Garo Hills, various schools rallied around 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 on Tuesday.
Similar activities were also held in Ampati, South West Garo Hills, as part of the World No Tobacco Day.
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.
