The Finance and Urban Development minister Prem Chand Agarwal has said that the increase in awareness is key to achieving the target of tobacco-free Uttarakhand.

The minster was addressing a one day workshop on the implementation of the tobacco licence vending system here on Tuesday. The workshop was organised under the joint aegis of the Health department and Balaji Sewa Sansthan.  Addressing the programme, Agarwal said that the general public needs to be made aware about the ill effects of consumption of tobacco. He said that it is generally seen that the tobacco products are presented in an attractive manner in the market due to which the youngsters fall prey to them. Agarwal called for social awareness, commitment and interdepartmental coordination to save the younger generation from the scourge of tobacco. 

The guest of honour Rajpur Road MLA, Khajan Das said that consistent efforts are being made to prevent tobacco consumption and rules are being made but there is a need to implement the law on ground. He said that we should disseminate information on the ill effects of tobacco at the pace with which the tobacco companies are reaching out to the youth.

 The chief medical officer (CMO) of Dehradun, Dr Sanjay Jain gave a detailed account of the anti- tobacco campaign undertaken by the Health department and Balaji Sewa Sansthan.

 The additional CMO of Dehradun, Dr Nidhi Rawat gave information about the prevention of Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (prohibition) Act (COTPA). The technical assistant of The Union, Nidhi Saij Puranik gave a presentation on the tobacco sale license. 

The officers of urban development, industry, education, municipal corporation, drug control, Panchyati Raj, tourism, youth welfare, excise, transport, social welfare and others attended the workshop.