Hoshiarpur- Under the special anti-tobacco campaign, detailed awareness activities were organized by the Health Department under the guidance of Civil Surgeon Dr. Balbir Kumar with the aim of spreading awareness among the youth about the harmful effects of tobacco and motivating them to stay away from tobacco consumption. This campaign was run under the leadership of Dr. Jagdeep Singh District Epidemiologist and Dr. Salesh Kumar District Epidemiologist (IDSP).
The team included Health Inspector Vishal Puri, Health Inspector Sanjeev Thakur, Health Workers Surinder Kalsi and Naresh Kumar. The team visited various public places of the city - such as bus stands, main markets and shops and made people aware about the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act-2003 (COTPA).
During this, posters were put up against smoking and people were informed about the ill effects of tobacco. The team gave detailed information about the health and environmental harms of smoking and encouraged people to stay away from tobacco products.
Shopkeepers were urged to put up 'Tobacco-Free Zone' boards and warned them not to sell flavored tobacco products, hookahs and e-cigarettes. The health team said that as per Section 4 of the COTPA Act, it is a legal offence to smoke cigarettes, bidis or any other form of tobacco in any public place.
Along with this, selling tobacco products to children below the age of 18 or selling tobacco products within 100 yards of any educational institution is also a legal offence. Dr. Jagdeep Singh said that “Smoking and tobacco consumption are very harmful to our health.