HAILAKANDI, Oct 10 - A tobacco-free campaign was launched in different schools in Hailakandi on Monday.
Teaching, non-teaching staff and students participated in large numbers vowing to make Hailakandi district tobacco-free and to encourage youths to give up tobacco consumption.
Inspector of Schools, Rajiv Kumar Jha said that through this campaign, the ill-effects of chewing tobacco, betel-nuts, smoking cigarettes, bidis, etc., were taught to the school students by the principals, teachers and social activists.
While some advocated steps for mobilising the youths to give up tobacco consumption, others pitched for accelerating tobacco-control measures for achieving the goals under the National Health Policy.
The speakers made a clarion call for raising the level of awareness to the desired one to drive home the message about the ill effects and impact of smoking and chewing of tobacco in any form on health for ushering in healthy behaviours.
They were unanimous in their opinion that broad educational efforts for all age groups will be more effective in influencing youth behaviour than all efforts put together.
The tobacco epidemic is one of the biggest public health threats the world has ever faced. It kills nearly six million people annually. In India, use of tobacco kills about one million people every year. There are about 267 million tobacco users in the country.
