Our Correspondent
Kohima | May 27
Minister for Health & Family welfare Kuzholuzo Nienu today called for participation and positive role by each and every individual, whether in the government sector or otherwise, for dissemination of awareness on the ill-effects of tobacco and the need for implementing tobacco control programmes at the grass-root level. He was speaking at the state-level advocacy on the implementation of tobacco control laws here at the Zonal Council Hall.
The minister said implementation of the Tobacco Act of 2003 is the responsibility of every citizen and government as well. ‘We can all start with ourselves, our families, our friend circles, our work places to create awareness of the ill-effects of tobacco, ensure that tobacco and its related products are not sold within the vicinity of educational institutions, to ensure a smoke free office/zone, use church platform for advocacy,’ he said in his calling for effective implementation.
“As a leader, as a bureaucrat, as a HoD, as a student leader, you and I can be the torchbearers in tobacco control,” he said. “If we take into consideration the harmful effects of tobacco which causes a variety of cancers, effects the reproductive system, in fact the effects of tobacco on the entire body is disastrous, you can well imagine that we are playing with fire. At the same time the overall health status of our present and future generations is at great risk,” Azo said.
India has the highest number of oral cancer cases in the world. Oral cancer in India accounts for about 40 % of cancer cases in the country and 95% of them are all tobacco-related, the minister said. The minister also called for reviewing the recently notified Revised Rules on “Prohibition of Smoking in Public Places Rules 2008” on May 30, 2008 which came into force all over the country on October 2, 2008.
Among others, the Act has provisions prohibiting smoking in public places, prohibition of advertisement, promotion and sponsorship of tobacco products; ban on the sale of tobacco products to any minor (below 18 years), ban on its sale within an area of 100 yards of any educational institution, mandatory depiction of pictorial health warnings on tobacco product packs and mandatory depiction of tar and narcotic content and its permissible limits.
“We should however realize that regardless of how well we bring out an Act or Rules maybe, ultimately its utility would depend on how effectively the Acts/Rules are implemented on the ground,” he asserted.
Stating that his main concern as a minister of health and family welfare is on the preventive aspects, he said “we have to realize that the use of Tobacco is one of the leading preventable causes of death in the world.
Its use not only affects the users but also its environment, in fact the unborn are also one of the most vulnerable to the ill effects of Tobacco use.” Referring to the multifarious effects of tobacco use, he said it needs a multi-faceted approach towards effective prevention of its use for a healthier tomorrow.
The state’s department of Health & Family Welfare has already initiated various steps to put in place the operational aspects of the Act such as the National Tobacco Control Programme (NTCP) in Nagaland. It was activated only in July 2008. State and district-level monitoring committees are also being set up while state and district nodal officers for the NTCP are also being nominated.
Also, expressing concern over school children using tobacco products, Additional Chief Secretary Banuo Z. Jamir felt that slogans may also be placed in text book or exercises to spread awareness about the ill effects of tobacco. She assured to work with the medical department to control tobacco.
The workshop was organized by the state’s department of health & family welfare in collaboration with World Health Organization and Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
