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0 As a step towards the advancement of public health, the University Grants Commission issued circulars to all higher educational institutions (HEIs) requesting the active involvement of such institutions in a Tobacco-Free Youth Campaign initiated under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. This campaign will make students aware of the dangers of smoking or any kind of tobacco usage and teach them to maintain a smoke-free environment.
Goals of the campaign
The circular underscores the urgent necessity of protecting youth from tobacco use, identified as endangering its youth to various adverse effects of tobacco use-the deadly addiction and long-term health consequences. With this vision, the UGC invites universities and colleges to implement the following measures for propagation of campaign objectives effectively.
Proposed Activities
HEIs are advised to:
1. Organizing Awareness Programs: Conduct seminars, workshops, and interactive sessions amongst the students to make them aware of health hazards through tobacco smoking.
2. Display Information Material: Installation of posters, banners, and digital displays across campuses disseminating anti-tobacco messages.
3. Involvement of Student Volunteers: Mobilize the students as an ambassador of the campaign to be shared among local communities.
4. Creation of Tobacco-Free Zones: No-tobacco policy to be strictly followed on the campus and make it a complete tobacco-free zone.
Collaboration with Government Initiatives
The UGC circular has a section where it mentions the potential resources that the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare have provided, including the information brochures and multimedia content. It urges the institutions to use this material and align with state and district health departments for the larger campaign.
Promotion of Voluntarism for the National Programme
This campaign extends an invitation to each institution to dedicate itself to a tobacco-free environment. The UGC also asks them to document and report their efforts for visible contributions towards healthier, tobacco-free youths.
This directive by the UGC is thus, in tandem with the India’s larger vision of a healthy and prosperous India. HEIs can indeed play an important role in countering the tobacco epidemic while helping raise a generation that respects health and wellness over deleterious habits.
All educational institutions across the country must take up this campaign fully, creating a point of action for collective public health advocacy.
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