World Tobacco Day: Govt. launches mass anti-tobacco campaign
The World Tobacco Day falls on May 31st, and India’s Health Ministry has used this occasion to announce a massive 60-day campaign around the country against the consumption of tobacco. The theme of this pan India campaign will be ‘Tobacco-free Youth’, which will focus on spreading awareness of the health hazards caused by consuming tobacco. They will also be provided with assistance in quitting tobacco, as the process of de-addiction can be highly difficult for a person both physically and psychologically.
Global Youth Tobacco Survey has reported a positive news in terms of tobacco consumption. Its use among adolescents was 14.6 percent in 2010 but had come down to 8.5 percent as of 2019. A total of 42 percent decline has been recorded in this regarded, which shows India’s progress in the past decade. However, the government aims even further by launching this campaign on World Tobacco Day by banning the sale of tobacco products within a hundred yards of educational institutions. While tobacco use has witnessed gradual decline, WHO estimates that 1.35 people die in India every year due to this reason. While India still has miles to cover towards reducing this number, policy makers are aggressively pursuing this cause.
