Despite steps to curb tobacco consumption and de-addiction centres, about eight percent of children in the 13-15 age group are under the influence of tobacco in Chhattisgarh.
A total 39.1 percent of the state's population uses tobacco, said Dr Kamlesh Jain, the state nodal officer, National Tobacco Control Programme.
He was addressing a workshop organized by the Health and Family Welfare Department and district level nodal officers of health, police and school education departments here, an official communication said on Monday.
He said to curb tobacco effectively, all educational institutions must be tobacco free.
Jain said the Centre has issued guidelines for tobacco-free educational institutions. These guidelines are to be compulsorily implemented.
Dr. Trupti Nagariya and senior scientist Dr. Neha Singh of the Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Raipur, presented a research paper regarding the harmful effects of tobacco use among pregnant women.
The research found that 34.3 percent of pregnant women who used tobacco had more complications. Along with this, problems like miscarriage have also been observed in 1.6 percent of pregnant women.
