There are 8,000 deaths related to tobacco use every year in Meghalaya, police officers at a training programme were told yesterday.
The police of East Khasi Hills were given training on Cigarettes & Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA), which was imparted by the National Tobacco Control Programme (NTCP), Department of Health, in collaboration with Sambandh Health Foundation.
All police stations have been asked to install ‘No Smoking’ signs and to enforce bans on smoking and selling cigarettes near schools and colleges, smoking in public places and selling or providing tobacco products to children.
The State Nodal Officer of the NTCP, Dr Lana Lyngdoh Nongbri said, “As per the Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS), 33.6 percent of 13-15-year-olds are tobacco consumers in the state.”
Assistant Professor at NEIGRIHMS, Dr Caleb Harris, said that tobacco use is responsible for 40 percent of all cancers in the state and 90 percent of oral and lung cancers.
In Meghalaya, 25 lakh (47 percent) people use tobacco products in some form. Daily, 14 children are initiated into tobacco use in Meghalaya, while in India, 5,500 children are initiated every day.
The East Khasi Hills police along with Department of Health will be taking strict action against people smoking in public places or selling tobacco within 100 yards of schools and colleges, a police release said.
