Commissioner & Secretary, Health & Family Welfare, Y Kikheto Sema, IAS called the launch of Tobacco Free School to Tobacco Free Home Campaign as ‘historic’, stating that students from Tobacco Free Schools will take the knowledge and create awareness in their families, which will transform thousands of homes, DIPR informed.
Speaking at the inaugural programme of the campaign held at Little Flower Higher Secondary School Kohima on Friday, the special guest said that the reason of choosing the school as the venue was because it is an all- girls school and it is one of the best well-known schools in the whole state.
“… girls are always effective, efficient as an agent of changes and women handle crisis better than men and women are the key to sustainable development and quality of life in the family,” Sema said.
He also encouraged the school saying that if LFHSS can make these initiatives successful, it will become a role model for thousands of schools in the state, country, and around the world to follow.
Stressing the objectives of the Tobacco Free Home Campaign, Sema said that when an educational institution becomes tobacco-free, they have the required knowledge to create awareness in their homes. Students, especially girls, can motivate their parents and siblings that their health is vital and being free of tobacco use is one way of attaining good health, he added.
Sema further stressed that if every student of tobacco-free schools take part in this campaign, there is a huge potential to transform thousands of homes, when awareness is created in every home it will bring about huge impact on the overall behaviour of the citizens.
Addressing the gathering, the Commissioner & Secretary of H&FW elaborated on the dangerous effects of tobacco stating that it is the biggest cause of preventable deaths in the world. In Nagaland, 700 new cancer cases are registered and that 43% of children between the age of 13 to 15 are tobacco users.
He mentioned that there are 356 Tobacco Free Schools in Nagaland out of 2684 schools in Nagaland, therefore the Government has declared all Educational Institutions both Government and Private in Nagaland as Tobacco Free Zone with effect from 1 May 2023, and also all Government Hospitals, Health Care, Health offices including directorate of Health & Family Welfare has been declared as Tobacco Free Zone on 23 January 2023 and next all Government, Public offices and institutions will follow.
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Dr. Chiekroshuyi Tetseo, Additional Director, DH&FW, in his keynote address, said that children are exposed to the influence of tobacco from home through their parents so the whole idea of this campaign is to let the children go back home and let their parents know the ill effects of tobacco usage.
During the programme, Tobacco Free Home certificates were also given to parents of the students for achieving the status of Tobacco Free Home under the initiative of State Tobacco Control Cell, National Tobacco Control Programme, Nagaland by the special guest.
The programme was chaired by Dr. Meribeni Odyuo, Joint Director & SPO (NOHP) DH&FW, invocation, and welcome address was said by Sister Rosemary Adaphro, Sister Superior, and vote of thanks was delivered by Dr. Arenla Walling, Deputy Director & SNO(NTCP) DH&FW.
