WHO Award to Jharkhand for Tobacco Control | 30 May 2022

Why in News?

• On May 29, 2022, Lalit Ranjan Pathak, nodal officer of The National Tobacco Control Programme (NTCP) of Jharkhand, informed that Jharkhand has been selected by the World Health Organization for the World No Tobacco Day (WNTD) Award, 2022 for its efforts to control tobacco consumption.

Key Points

• The State Tobacco Control Cell of the Jharkhand Health Department will receive the award on the occasion of World No Tobacco Day in New Delhi on May 31.
• According to the report of the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS)-1, when the National Tobacco Control Programme (NTCP) was launched in Jharkhand in 2012, the tobacco prevalence rate in the state was 51.1 per cent, of which 48 per cent were non-smoking users.
• The report, published in 2018, said the number of tobacco users in the state declined to 38.9 per cent, of which 35.4 per cent were non-smoking users.
• Ranjan Pathak pointed out that Jharkhand initiated several measures between 2018 and 2022. The Union Health Ministry, WHO and dedicated State and District Health Teams have contributed immensely in reducing the tobacco prevalence rate in Jharkhand.