The State of Punjab which is ailing under drug abuse has something to rejoice about, because with the constant efforts made by the School of Public Health, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, through their district level tobacco control committee, 17 districts has been declared smoke-free.
Dr Sonu Goel, Assistant Professor PGI who played a vital role in achieving this feat said, “In 2011, the government of Punjab asked for help to make Mohali a smoke free zone. The tertiary care institute considered the proposal and started working in this direction. To achieve the best possible result, PGI laid down international norms to control the menace for the first time.”
To make this campaign a success the PGI took the help of institutes like Campaign for tobacco free kids, John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Union against Tuberculosis and lung Disease.
According to the rules carved out for the campaign smoke free zones were declared around educational institutes, health care institutes, transit sites, Government offices, hotels, restaurants and railway stations. Constant surveillance was put around this area to penalize any offender.
According to the 52nd of National Sample Survey (52nd NSS) conducted by the National Sample Survey Organization, thirty per cent of the population 15 years or older—47 percent men and 14 percent of women—either smoked or chewed tobacco, which translates to almost 195 million people—154 million men and 41million women in India in 2003. Besides various ailments caused by tobacco use, the total expenditure incurred on dealing with tobacco-related diseases in India is a whopping Rs 1, 04,500 crore.
According to a new report released by the Union Ministry of Health on Thursday, the direct medical cost of tobacco-related diseases amounts to Rs 16,800 crore, and associated indirect morbidity costs stand at Rs 14,700 crore. The cost from premature mortality stands at Rs 73,000 crore, which causes a substantial productive loss to the country.
“Smoking might cause COPD (chronic bronchitis, emphysema) lung cancer and other cancers, cancer of the lip, mouth, throat, larynx and bladder and is a risk factor of cancer of pancreas, cervix and kidney,” said Dr D Behra, Prof and Head of Department of Pulmonary Medicine PGI.
Keeping in view the harmful effects of smoking, around 5723 sensitive spots in the 17 districts were covered to enforce the campaign. People were fined for smoking in these spots. The district committees created by the PGI carried out raids at regular intervals to stop the menace.
The School of Public Health, PGI later collected samples from these sites and according to the adherence report, prepared after the continuous labor of the committees, the success rate was found to be 85.1 percent to 96.9 percent. The Punjab government has asked the PGI to carry out a survey in the older cities where the campaign was carried earlier to find out the success. However, the government is currently satisfied by the result obtained after the no smoking campaign was carried out rigorously.
