Holding unwelcome records when it comes to smoking, the Meghalaya government is trying to get the citizenry to stub out the habit, or at least to curb the activity in public places.
Ahead of World No Tobacco Day on May 31, a press conference was held today, bringing together doctors and police officers where it was announced that Rs 6.17 lakh in fines were collected during the 2022-23 financial year from smokers in the state.
One passionate anti-smoking crusader is Dr Lana Lyngdoh Nongbri, the state head of the National Tobacco Control Programme. Speaking to reporters today, she said, “We are happy to say that in Meghalaya, from the more than 14,000 schools, we have around 12,000 schools that are already active in tobacco-free educational institution implementation,” adding that colleges will soon be included, with the National Service Scheme (NSS) units supporting the issue.
This year’s No Tobacco Day theme in the state is ‘My Meghalaya – Tobacco-Free Meghalaya’. Schools around the state have been conducting awareness drives on the subject all this month.
Hammering the need for Meghalaya to quit tobacco, Dr Caleb Harris of NEIGRIHMS informed that there are around 8,000 tobacco-related deaths in Meghalaya through cancer, stroke and other diseases. NEIGRIHMS itself sees some 1,000 cancer patients annually, with the majority of these being tobacco-related.
Data for Meghalaya shows that 34 per cent of 13-15 years old and 47 per cent of those aged 15 and above consume tobacco.
Dr Harris further said that oesophageal cancer in Meghalaya is ten times the national average.
“In Meghalaya the rate of oesophageal cancer is around 50 to 70 per lakh of population, which is the highest in the country and among the highest in the world. The treatment of oesophageal cancer is very difficult and it is a dreaded disease. Even with the best of treatment, the chances of a cure are only around 20-25 percent,” he informed.
Meanwhile, Deputy Superintendent of Police Ivan Diengdoh stressed on Section 4 of Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act 2003, which bans smoking in public places.
He said Section 5 of the act does not allow advertisement and promotion of tobacco products and violations will attract punishment and seizures of the products and result in court cases. Section 6A of the law also prohibits selling of tobacco products to minors and the sale of the products by minors.
“This is a serious offense and the Juvenile Justice Act also comes into play whereby the punishment is up to seven years and a fine of up to Rs 1 lakh,” Diengdoh said.
Of the fines collected, he informed that Cantonment beat house in Shillong alone netted Rs 2 lakh in fines during 2022-23.
