India News | Concerted Efforts Needed Across Sectors to Tackle Menace of Tobacco Use: Experts
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. Government officials and experts on Friday emphasised the need for concerted efforts across various sectors to tackle the deep-rooted issue of tobacco use in the society.
New Delhi, Feb 16 (PTI) Government officials and experts on Friday emphasised the need for concerted efforts across various sectors to tackle the deep-rooted issue of tobacco use in the society.
Dr Atul Goel, Director General of Health Services (DGHS), Government of India, highlighted the critical role of multi-sectoral intervention in navigating this journey towards a healthier future.
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Speaking at the inaugural session of the 6th National Conference on Tobacco or Health, themed "Towards Tobacco-Free India,? An Audacious Race Against Time", Goel underlined India's position as the fourth-largest global producer of tobacco in 2021, highlighting the magnitude of the challenge.
Addressing the conference, Dr Sutapa B Neogi, Director of the IIHMR-Delhi and president, 6th National Conference on Tobacco or Health, highlighted the grim reality of tobacco use in India, where more than 10 lakh people die each year from tobacco-related illnesses.
Neogi stressed the importance of uniting to combat the dual burden of smoking and smokeless tobacco, which currently affects nearly 29 per cent of Indian adults.
The three-day conference, serving as a platform for professionals, researchers and policymakers, aims at exchanging knowledge and best practices in tobacco control.
Neogi emphasised the need for collective action to drive impactful change in tobacco-control policies and practices.
The pressing concerns were further highlighted by Dr L Swasticharan, Additional DDG in the Directorate General and Director (EMR), Directorate General of Health Services, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, who expressed alarm over the involvement of youngsters in tobacco consumption and the resultant global impact.
Stressing the economic burden and the imperative to strengthen measures, such as the NTCP and WHO-MPOWER initiative, he underscored the importance of multi-sectoral action at the national, state and district levels to prioritise tobacco taxation and raise funds for a smoke-free India.
Dr Yutaro Setoya, Team Lead for NCDs and Comorbidities at the WHO India Country Office, reinforced the urgency to address the increasing burden of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) in India, primarily attributed to tobacco use.
With a WHO report indicating a 30-per cent reduction in tobacco use in India, Setoya commended the country's efforts while emphasising the need for holistic eradication strategies and prevention initiatives targeted at youngsters.
Dr Jagdish Kaur, Regional Advisor for Tobacco Free Initiatives at the World Health Organization's South-East Asia Regional Office (WHO-SEARO), says, "There is an urgent need for comprehensive policies to regulate surrogate advertisements of tobacco products, particularly smokeless tobacco. These policies should not only be formulated, but also implemented effectively to curb the insidious promotion of tobacco in various forms. Such regulations are crucial to protect public health and prevent the exploitation of loopholes in advertising regulations."
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)