Students taking a pledge to remain tobacco-free during the launch of the Tobacco-Free Youth Campaign 4.0 at Sacred Heart School, Mon, on October 28. (Photo Courtesy: NHM, Mon)
Mon, October 28 (MExN): The District Tobacco Control Cell, Mon, launched the Tobacco-Free Youth Campaign 4.0 at Sacred Heart School, Mon, on October 28, with a focus on promoting healthy choices among young people and strengthening enforcement against tobacco use.
According to a DIPR report, the 60-day campaign, an initiative of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the Ministry of Education, Government of India, seeks to protect young people from traditional tobacco products and electronic nicotine delivery systems, including e-cigarettes and vapes.
E Nyeamying Konyak, Consultant, National Tobacco Control Programme (NTCP), Mon, outlined the campaign’s four key focus areas: enforcement of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA), 2003, to prevent the sale of tobacco products near educational institutions; implementation of Tobacco-Free Educational Institution (ToFEI) guidelines; expansion of the Tobacco-Free Villages initiative; and intensified efforts to address the use of e-cigarettes and vapes.
She stressed that the campaign’s success depended on grassroots participation, individual responsibility and collective action, urging students, educational institutions and communities to translate its message into everyday practices.
Pakon Phom, NCS, Additional Deputy Commissioner, Mon, who attended as the guest of honour, officially launched the campaign. He underscored the importance of a healthy youth population in building a healthy nation and highlighted the health consequences of tobacco consumption, including cancer and respiratory diseases.
He urged students to remain tobacco-free, resist peer pressure and encourage others to adopt healthy lifestyles. He also called for collective efforts to make families, educational campuses, institutions and society tobacco-free.
Dr M H Daniel, Chairman of Sacred Heart School, Mon, delivered the welcome address and called for collective responsibility in combating tobacco use, while Dr Lihngam, Junior Dental Surgeon, District Hospital Mon, led the pledge-taking session, reaffirming participants’ commitment to a tobacco-free lifestyle.
