SEMINAR ORGANIZED UNDER TOBACCO CONTROL CAMPAIGN

SEMINAR ORGANIZED UNDER TOBACCO CONTROL CAMPAIGN

21-AUG-ENG 2

RAJIV NAYAN AGRAWAL

SASARAM------------------------------An important seminar and training workshop was organized under the "Tobacco Control Campaign" under the joint aegis of District Administration, Rohtas and Socio-Economic and Educational Development Society (SEEDS), the technical support organization of the state government. This program was chaired by District Magistrate, Rohtas, Mrs. Udita Singh.

All the government officials of the district including District Development Commissioner, Municipal Commissioner, Civil Surgeon, Deputy Superintendent of Police, District Planning Officer, District Education Officer, General Manager of Industries Department, Agriculture Officer, Health Department, Transport Department, Public Health Engineering Department, Medical Officer, Registered Hospital Representative and Media Personnel were present in the program.

The main objective of the program was to save children from tobacco addiction and to spread widespread awareness in the society about the ill effects of tobacco. In the workshop, the members of the three-tier guerrilla squad formed with the technical support of SEEDS were informed about the various legal provisions of the Tobacco Control Act (COTPA 2003) and training was provided for its effective implementation.

State Program Manager of SEEDS, Shri Sudarshan Singh, through his power point presentation, informed that on an average 440 children start consuming tobacco every day in Bihar, which is a very worrying situation. He presented the outline of the tobacco control campaign being run by the state government, giving information about the action under various sections of COTPA - 2003.

During the program, Civil Surgeon Dr. Maniraj Ranjan said that “active participation of social institutions and the general public is necessary to eradicate tobacco from its roots. To make this campaign more effective, it needs to be taken to the Panchayat level.”

District Magistrate Mrs. Udita Singh called upon everyone to start a mass movement to make Rohtas a “tobacco free district”. She said that “It is the duty of all of us to keep children and youth away from this deadly addiction so that a better, healthier and brighter future can be ensured.”

In the end, District Nodal Officer Dr. Asit Ranjan welcomed all the participants and the vote of thanks was given by Shri Ajay Kumar Singh, District Program Manager.