Emphasis on effective implementation of tobacco control law to make the state tobacco free
Public awareness will be increased to get rid of tobacco use
Raipur. 7 September 2023
Under the National Tobacco Control Programme, a one-day training-cum-orientation workshop was organized for officers in-charge of tobacco control cells of all the districts of the state, district nodal officers, district advisors, counselors and social workers. In the state level workshop organized at Naveen Vishram Bhawan, Raipur under the Bloomberg Project, the participants were given information about the prevalence of tobacco products and its ill effects. Effective laws for tobacco control in the workshop were Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act-2003, The sections and provisions of the E-Cigarette Act-2019 and the Cigarette and Other Tobacco Products Act-2003, the amended act by the state to ban hookah, were also explained. Emphasis was laid on effective implementation of these laws to make the state tobacco free. The participants were also given detailed information in the workshop about the strategies decided by the state for tobacco control such as tobacco-free offices, tobacco-free educational institutions, tobacco de-addiction centers and their implementation.
State Nodal Officer Dr. Kamlesh Jain informed the District Implementation Committees constituted under the National Tobacco Control Program about its objectives and structure. He told about the state-level works being done for tobacco control, the activities being carried out under the tobacco control program and the services of the Tobacco De-addiction Center. He asked the field officers from different districts to sensitize people not to use tobacco and motivate them to quit, so that the number of people who quit tobacco could increase in the state.
Dr. Shilpa Jain, associate professor of Raipur Dental College and master trainer of the State Tobacco Control Program, told in the workshop that we know the dangers of tobacco consumption, yet we do not accept it. Tobacco sellers also promote it indirectly which attracts the young generation especially school going children towards it. This deadly substance easily reaches them. Due to this, cancer and other serious diseases are increasing. He said that a person who smokes as well as a non-smoker is at risk of serious diseases. Therefore, it is important for us to provide better counseling at the TCC Center (Tobacco De-addiction Center) as well as to continuously follow-up the people coming there and motivate other people in their families to give up tobacco addiction. He asked everyone to make united efforts to eradicate the evil of tobacco addiction from the society.
During the training in the workshop, the experts asked to consider the sale of single beedis and cigarettes as a violation of Section 7 of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act-2003 as per the instructions issued by the state government and to ensure compliance with the statutory pictorial warning issued for it. The experts also gave detailed information on what action should be taken by the enforcement teams on the violation of these provisions.
In the workshop, Dr. Amit Yadav, Senior Technical Advisor of ‘The Union’ organization, stressed the strict implementation of legal provisions for tobacco control in the state like COTPA Act-2003, COTPA Chhattisgarh (Amendment) Act-2021 and E-cigarette Ban Act-2019. Emphasis was laid on making the efforts being made to ensure compliance more effective. He said that tobacco control can be done effectively on the basis of collective participation, self-determination ability and work efficiency. For this, it is necessary to develop the ability to be self-aware and also to make people aware about tobacco control.
Dr. Neha Sahu, State Advisor of the State Tobacco Control Program, told about the sale of tobacco products and the problems arising from it in the workshop. State Legal Advisor of State Tobacco Control Cell, Ms. Khyati Jain gave detailed information about tobacco control activities, COTPA Act and tobacco-free educational institutions in the state. Shri Prabodh Nanda of State Health Resource Center (SHRC) shared information regarding Mitanin program and Shri Nikhil Shukla of Shri Satya Sai Sanjeevani Hospital shared information regarding research conducted on tobacco in Raipur in the workshop. During the training of the participants, Mr. Sanjay Namdev and Mr. Prakash Srivastava of Bloomberg Project discussed about the reporting of National Tobacco Control Program in MIS,
