'Educational institutions should be tobacco-free'
STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI: The pledge of no-tobacco was taken on World No Tobacco Day, 2022 on Tuesday in the host institution Dimoria College, Khetri, under the guidance of District Tobacco Control Cell, Kamrup (M), and in collaboration with State Tobacco Control Cell, Assam.
The event was divided into three major sections – first, an awareness rally with participants from Green View School, Amiya Bharali Nursing School, Hayat School of Nursing and the students of Dimoria College. The rally primarily focused on slogans, which forwarded no-tobacco in educational environments, homes, and parenting roles.
Second, Hayat School of Nursing performed a street play where they forwarded effective measures for the disuse of tobacco – deep breathing exercises, yoga, green tea consumption, nicotine chewing gums, discussion and distraction between family and friends and medical help. This play highlighted the impacts of the use of tobacco on human health, cancerous diseases and other social problems like anger management issues and psychological confusion.
The third section of the event was a discussion on the topic 'Tobacco: Threat to Our Environment'. The chief discussants were Devasish Sharma (Commissioner, GMC), Dr Biman Bhatta (Principal, Dimoria College); Dr Arundhati Deka (State Nodal Officer, National Tobacco Control Program), Dr Paranjoy Bordoloi (State IEC Officer, National Elimination Program), Dr Amrit Krishna Bora (Gynaecologist, Sonapur District Hospital), and Dr Mridul Bharati Nath (Nodal Officer, District Tobacco Control Cell, Kamrup (M).
Key ideas of the speakers combined are declaration of educational institutions as tobacco-free, awareness of cigarette industry hazards, control over disguised advertisements that brand the use of tobacco, proper monitoring of vendor licencing acts and marketing policies, awareness on anti-tobacco support campaigns, counselling and parental roles, and channelization of the urge of tobacco use through investment in creative arts.
Multiple institutions, schools and colleges were certified as tobacco-free campuses in the event and KKHSOU, Dispur College, and Pandu College are some of these institutions. Several prizes were distributed among students for their active participation in a poster-making competition.
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