This year’s World No Tobacco Day campaigns began in Khliehriat and Nongpoh today.
World No Tobacco Day is observed on May 31 every year. This year, for a whole month, Meghalaya is observing the day with the theme ‘My Meghalaya, Tobacco-Free Meghalaya’.
There is widespread awareness that tobacco is harmful to all organs of the human body. What is not so well appreciated is the harm tobacco does to the environment and in pushing people below the poverty line.
Health authorities are reinforcing the message that tobacco is not only harmful to the people who use it but to the general environment.
Forty-seven percent of those 15 and above in Meghalaya use tobacco and it causes 8,000 deaths in the state every year. Nationally, 13.5 lakh people die every year due to tobacco and 70 lakh worldwide.
Six trillion cigarettes are produced every year, leading to deforestation, use of fossil fuels and the dumping of waste products, especially through the non-biodegradable cigarette butts.
Last year, in East Jaiñtia Hills, 398 schools conducted rallies, 3.13 lakh signatures were collected and nearly 25,000 students participated. Ri-Bhoi saw the participation of 57,825 students from 885 schools, with 512,054 signatures collected.
