Punjab Government on Monday maintained that it is determined to make the entire State ‘Tobacco Smoke Free’ by the year end.
“Chewable tobacco has already been banned in the State since one and half years. Already 16 districts are declared Tobacco Smoke Free and the department is determined to make entire Punjab Tobacco Smoke Free in the next few months,” said Principal Secretary of Health, Family Welfare and Medical Education Vini Mahajan after inaugurating the State-level advocacy workshop on Role of Media and Civil Society in Tobacco Control.
Asking the media and the civil society to be the part of state’s Tobacco Control Programme, Mahajan said that there was overwhelming evidence across many countries that the media contributed significantly towards curbing the tobacco epidemic.
“Studies in different countries have concluded that ban on surrogate advertising have resulted in reductions in consumption up to four to nine per cent. In addition to the bans, it is imperative that media be mobilised to advocate public health and economic argument against tobacco,” she added.
She said that Punjab is a perfect example, where Anti-Tobacco Act COTPA has been quiet effectively implemented with the close cooperation between Government, media and the civil society.
Giving a presentation on Advancing Tobacco Control under National Health Mission (NHM) framework, the state Health Secretary-cum-NHM managing director Hussan lal said that district tobacco control cell and district cessation center is being established in Bathinda this year under National Tobacco Control Program, and in next three years, similar activities will be undertaken in 12 districts.
Taking about achievements of tobacco control in the state, state health and family welfare director Dr Karanjit Singh said that 16 out of 22 districts have already been declared as Tobacco Smoke Free on the basis of compliance studies by PGI Chandigarh, and compliance study has also been completed in Jalandhar district which is likely to be declared Tobacco Smoke Free within a week.
The professor and surgeon at Tata Memorial Hospital Dr Pankaj Chaturvedi, presenting data of population-based cancer registry, said that three to four of the top five cancers in most registries are caused by tobacco.