Jharkhand Declares 911 Schools Tobacco-Free: Key Steps in Tobacco-Free Youth Campaign

Ranchi: The health department has declared around 911 schools as tobacco-free, ensuring that no tobacco shops operate near premises. It has covered over 800 schools to generate awareness about harmful effects of tobacco consumption.The state is implementing the Tobacco Free Youth Campaign 3.0 (TFYC 3.0), a 60-day nationwide awareness drive launched on October 9 to educate students, teachers, and communities about the health risks linked to smoking and smokeless tobacco products.State nodal officer for National Tobacco Control Programme, Jharkhand, Dr Ashwinilal Lal said, “The campaign seeks to prevent the initiation of tobacco use among young people, assist users in quitting, and strengthen compliance with tobacco control laws and initiatives such as Tobacco-Free Educational Institutions and Tobacco-Free Villages."Each district is organising 30 awareness activities, declaring at least 40 educational institutions as tobacco-free, and identifying a minimum of 30 villages which has shunned tobacco.Enforcement squads are conducting regular drives under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA), 2003 (Jharkhand Amendment 2021) and the Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes Act (PECA), 2019. In addition, the initiative is strengthening social media engagement by involving local influencers, youth icons, and community radio channels to spread anti-tobacco messages.

Dr Lal said, “With tobacco use causing an estimated 13.5 lakh deaths annually in the country, officials emphasise the urgent need to sensitise young people, especially in rural and high-risk areas, about the long-term dangers of tobacco consumption.”