The World No Tobacco Day is observed every year on May 31 and here the theme this year is ‘My Meghalaya, Tobacco-Free Meghalaya’.
The campaign was launched with the aim to urge educational institutions in the state to join the movement with two powerful actions – walk against tobacco and to create a wall of posters.
This initiative is part of the ongoing Tobacco Free Educational Institutions (ToFEI) programme, which was launched in schools in March 2021 and expanded to colleges in September 2023 in partnership with the Sambandh Health Foundation.
Dr Lana L Nongbri, State Nodal Officer, National Tobacco Control Programme, Department of Health informed that nearly half of adults aged 15-plus in the state consume tobacco and around 8,000 lives are lost in the state every year to tobacco-related illnesses.
She also stated that a recent survey across 61,748 schools in four Indian states (one of which was Meghalaya), pointed out that there is a correlation between the density of shops selling tobacco near schools and the prevalence of tobacco use in the state.
In a 2022 survey, about 41 percent of schools surveyed had at least one shop within 100 yards that was selling tobacco, which is illegal, she added.
Last year, a very effective programme on No Tobacco Day across the state, Jennyfer J Synrem of the Education Department said, with more than 8,000 schools participating in the campaign and about 65 lakh people had taken part in the signature campaign.
The Deputy Commissioner of Ri-Bhoi, Arpit Upadhyaya, invited people of the district to join hands in raising awareness through anti-tobacco initiatives, fostering a healthier tomorrow through collective behavioural change.
