Rajasthan

• 19 Oct 2021

Global Youth Tobacco Survey-State Fact Sheet Workshop

Why in News

• On October 18, 2021, Rajasthan's Medical Minister Dr. Raghu Sharma informed that according to the Global Youth Tobacco Survey conducted by the Union Health Ministry and International Institute for Population Sciences, the percentage of tobacco consumption among children in the age group of 13 to 15 years is 4.1 percent. This is better than the national average of 8.5 percent.

Key Points

• During this, the Medical Minister said through virtual medium that as per the commitment made in the public announcement of the State Government, the result of effective implementation of tobacco control activities in the State is that the State is among the leading States in the State Fact Sheet.
• Dr. Sharma said that the state government has banned the sale, distribution, storage and advertisement of electronic cigarettes in the state with effect from 30th May, 2019 to prevent drug addiction among the youth. After this, electronic cigarettes were also banned by the Government of India.
• He said that a complete ban on hookah bar operation has also been imposed in the state. A fine of Rs 1 to 3 lakh and imprisonment of 6 months to 1 year has been made for violation of the rules of hookah bar operation ban.
• The Medical Minister said that under the 'Nirogi Rajasthan' campaign, one woman and one male health friend, who do not use any kind of intoxicants, had been selected in each revenue village by the state government. A total of 94 thousand health friends were selected and the work of publicity of health activities was started at the village level, in which de-addiction and tobacco control were also included prominently.
• In the workshop, Professor Muraleedharan of International Institute for Population Sciences, Mumbai told that 2 thousand 735 children of 34 schools of the state were asked various questions in the survey. According to the survey, 90 percent of the children admitted that the habit of using tobacco was first formed from school itself. Tobacco use was more common among children in rural areas than in cities. He said that the percentage of tobacco consumption among girls in this age group is similar.