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KISHTWAR: Deputy Commissioner, Pankaj Kumar Sharma today flagged off the “Tobacco Free Youth Campaign 3.0” under the National Tobacco Control Program (NTCP) in the district organised by the Health Department. The two-month-long campaign, part of a nationwide initiative by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India was launched here from Government Model Higher Secondary School (Boys) with a student rally flagged off by the Deputy Commissioner. The rally was organized by the Health Department in collaboration with the Education Department to spread awareness about hazards of tobacco use.
Addressing the participants, the DC emphasized the urgent need for collective action to curb the rising menace of tobacco use, particularly among youth. “We, collectively—including teachers and students—must make this campaign successful in every educational institution in the district,” the DC said, adding that the campaign is being launched from Government Higher Secondary School as Educational Institutions require special focus in the fight against Tobacco addiction. He said the campaign would subsequently extend to college students.
Over the next sixty days, the campaign will feature Information, Education and Communication (IEC) activities, community engagement workshops and enforcement drives aimed at promoting a healthier, tobacco-free Kishtwar.
The initiative will raise public awareness about the dangers of tobacco use and ensure strict adherence to Tobacco-Free Educational Institution (ToFEI) guidelines. The community would be acquainted with Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA) 2003 and the Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes Act (PECA) 2019 with stress on enforcement of ban on the sale of tobacco within 100 yards of educational institutions
Efforts would also be directed towards creating tobacco-free villages through awareness programs, sensitization drives and law enforcement initiatives. The students and youth would be encouraged to lead the movement under the slogan: “Say No To Tobacco, Yes To Life.”
The launch event was attended by Chief Education Officer Sanjay Dogra; Chief Medical Officer Dr. Yudhvir Singh Kotwal; the Principal of the host school Ashok Kumar, Teachers and a large number of Students.
