A seminar on hazards of tobacco and tobacco control legislation was conducted by the Social Work Department of the BJB Autonomous College here on Tuesday. On the occasion, Nasha Mukti Yuva Sankalp (NMYS) Sankalpi Ratnakar Sahoo discussed the issues and challenges of tobacco control in the State.
He said tobacco has been proven to be a confirmed cancer-causing substance by the World Health Organisation (WHO) nearly 30 years back. Apart from that, India is the second largest producer and consumer of tobacco in the world. No wonder, the country has the highest number of oral cancer cases in the world, he added.
NMYS MD Imran Ali Sankalpi emphasised on Section 6 of Cigarette and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA) that aims at keeping the minors away from tobacco products, Section 6 (A) of COTPA that prohibits sale of tobacco to and by the minors and 6 (B) that prohibits sale of tobacco products within 100 yards of educational institutions.
Imran also discussed that despite its ban by the State Government, gutkha is available in open market everywhere which needs urgent action by the Government as well as attention by the
public.
He added that people in Odisha chewed gutkha and zarda worth `1,400 crore after the ban so far.
n&siIJIJIJ IJIJIJ di is better than Kandhamal in terms of land availability, communication, electricity and water facility. It can serve nine tribal dominated districts of the State, he said, adding, “There are many other suitable Government sites in Kalahandi including a site near Kesinga having all required infrastructure for such an establishment.”
Patra said the carelessness of the DHE has delayed three years to establish the IGNTU campus in Kalahandi. The university authority at Amarkantak is waiting for a suitable land in the district, but the State Government’s lackadaisical attitude is creating confusion in the mind of the Kalahandi people, he added.