‘Tobacco Free Youth Campaign 2.0’ held across Kashmir

Srinagar, Oct 15: Many activities under implementation of Tobacco Free Youth Campaign 2.0 are being held across Kashmir valley by the Tobacco Control cell Directorate of Health Services Kashmir with a special focus on educational institutions.
The programs are being held in view of the launch of the Tobacco Free Youth Campaign 2.0 in the country by the Union Health Ministry and many activities under the nationwide tobacco program continue indifferent districts.
The Health Department has enlisted international cricketer Parvez Rasool, who, in a video message, urged people to quit tobacco, calling it the root cause of many diseases.
“Cigarette smoking is injurious to health, and those who use tobacco not only harm themselves but also those around them,” he said.
Speaking about the campaign, Rasool highlighted the importance of fitness for athletes, noting that tobacco addiction negatively impacts their ability to compete.
“A sports person involved in tobacco addiction can’t maintain the fitness required to perform well in any sport,” he said.
The cricketer encouraged everyone to join the initiative against tobacco launched by the Directorate of Health Services Kashmir, raising awareness among youth and the public about its harmful effects.
Programs and rallies are being conducted in schools and in localities to raise awareness among the students and general public about the negative effects of tobacco use.
Officials said meanwhile, the staff of Health Department across Kashmir have been visiting local areas to educate people, shopkeepers and other concerned stakeholders about dangers of tobacco use.
On Tuesday, enforcement drive against Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA) violators was conducted in Block Rajpora and the persons found violating various sections of COTPA were penalized.
Earlier, the Health Ministry decided to implement Tobacco Free Youth Campaign 2.0 across the country to escalate public awareness on harmful effects of Tobacco Products, Implementation of Tobacco Free Educational Intuitions (TOFEI guidelines), Tobacco Free Villages concept (TFV), enhance enforcement of COTPA-2003 and PECA-2019.
Officials said the campaign will be conducted for two months from Sept 24 to Nov 2024 in pursuance to directions from Govt. of India many activities were planned in the district.
They said under the nationwide campaign all the educational institutions would be declared as TOFEI compliant and villages would be declared as tobacco free villages.
The Union Health Ministry introduced the first Tobacco Free Youth Campaign last year, on May 31, 2023, in celebration of World No Tobacco Day. This year the Ministry launched Tobacco-Free Youth Campaign 2.0 to motivate young people to quit tobacco use.