On the occasion of World No Tobacco Day (WNTD) 2024, the Department of School Education & Literacy (DoSEL), Ministry of Education, launched an Implementation Manual of Tobacco Free Educational Institutions (ToFEI) at New Delhi today in collaboration with Socio Economic and Educational Development Society (SEEDS). This year’s WNTD theme is “Protecting children from tobacco industry interference”. The newly launched manual has been designed in line with the theme.
The manual aims to assist schools in adhering to the ToFEI guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, thereby creating a healthier, tobacco-free environment for students. This initiative will empower all the stakeholders to adopt and enforce guidelines that protect students from the dangers of tobacco.
Prior to the event, Shri Sanjay Kumar, Secretary, DoSEL, in his message, urged that all educational institutions should take steps to discourage the use of tobacco and safeguard children from being addicted to the use of tobacco by making the educational institutions a tobacco-free zone.
Unveiling the manual, Shri Anandrao V. Patil, Additional Secretary, DoSEL, Ministry of Education, stressed the importance of protecting children from tobacco not just as a health imperative but also as a moral obligation. He emphasized on the need to create a tobacco-free educational environment and to ensure that tobacco doesn’t have a harmful impact on the students. He highlighted the grim mortality rate due to the harmful consumption of tobacco and encouraged the stakeholders to actively execute the Implementation Manual for ToFEI.
Dr. Amarpreet Duggal, Joint Secretary, DoSEL, welcomed the participants to the launch event and stressed the importance of collaborative efforts by all stakeholders to combat tobacco use among students. She mentioned that as per the Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS), 2019, 8.5% of students in the age group of 13 to 15 consume tobacco.
Reiterating their commitment, all dignitaries took an oath against tobacco use, a collective endeavour, to create a healthier, tobacco-free future for the nation’s youth. Senior officials from the Ministry of Education, autonomous bodies and States/UTs graced the event. Dr. Rana J Singh and Shri Deepak Mishra of SEEDS were also present on the occasion.
The event concluded with a vote of thanks by Shri U.P. Singh, Director, DoSEL. He expressed gratitude to all dignitaries, partners, and participants for their support and contribution towards the successful launch of the Implementation Manual for ToFEI.
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