CONRAD DIAS
Ranchi, May 31: The World Health Organization (WHO) awarded the State Tobacco Control Cell, Jharkhand on World No Tobacco Day for excellent work in the field of tobacco control. However, the selling of tobacco and tobacco products in restricted areas is still quite prevalent in Jharkhand.
As per the law, the selling of tobacco products is prohibited in and around a 100-meter radius of any educational institution. However, there are many shops which sell tobacco products near schools and colleges in Jharkhand.
Deepak Mishra, Executive Director of Socio-Economic and Educational Development Society (SEEDS) said that the ground reality in Jharkhand is much better than many other states in the country.
“If we compare Jharkhand to other states, the State Tobacco Control Cell has worked exceedingly well to curb the usage of tobacco in the state. We will not find pan shops selling Pan Masala or Gutkha openly in the market. The tobacco prevalence rate in Jharkhand was 50.1% whereas as of now it has come down to 38.9%,” Mishra added.
He further said that a State Anti Tobacco Guerrilla Squad has been established at the state level, as well as three tiers (District, Subdivision, and Block) Anti Tobacco Guerrilla Squads in the districts, to help enforce the Tobacco Control Act (COTPA-2003).
Sushant Sinha from the National Tobacco Control Programme (NTCP) said that the situation of stopping the use of tobacco cannot take place overnight whereas the situation in the state has improved a lot compared to the last few years.
“We are regularly conducting various anti-tobacco awareness drives in the city as well as there is a Tobacco Cessation Centre at RIMS where we help people who are addicted to tobacco and help them in quitting the addiction,” he said.
He added that children of the current generation are more technologically advanced and they do find a way to buy tobacco products despite being underage. He suggested that the government should also use technology in the form of an app or online portal which can show the fine in the public domain in order to stop underage children from buying and consuming tobacco.
