Five districts excel on anti-tobacco front

Nitin Jain

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 31

Taking the lead in the campaign against the sale and use of killer tobacco products, Ropar, Patiala, Sangrur, Jalandhar and Gurdaspur have been declared India’s first five total COTPA (Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act)-compliant districts.

This was reported in the compliance study conducted in Punjab by the School of Public Health at the PGIMER.

All 22 districts of the state have already been declared tobacco smoke-free.

Sharing the report on the occasion of World No Tobacco Day here today, Principal Secretary, Health and Family Welfare, Punjab, Vini Mahajan told The Tribune that the state government had adopted zero tolerance towards tobacco products not complying with the latest pictorial health warnings mandated by the norms.

The PGIMER study has also revealed that more than 90 per cent of the tobacco users noticed pictorial health warnings on packs. Of these, over 60 per cent thought of quitting smoking after seeing the warnings.

To mark the no-tobacco day, the state government conducted a seven-day awareness and enforcement drive which concluded in all districts today. During the drive, over 3,300 violators were challaned under sections 4 and 6 of COTPA.

Commissioner, Food and Drug Administration, Punjab, Hussan Lal, said seizures of smokeless tobacco were also made during the drive.

Meanwhile, Punjab was among the special invitees at a national workshop chaired by Union Health Minister JP Nadda in New Delhi on Monday. State Programme Officer, Tobacco Control Cell, Punjab, Dr Rakesh Gupta shared the state’s success story on e-cigarette prohibition and the country’s first-ever conviction, besides an action plan on the anti-tobacco law.