[ Obang Mize ]
Observed globally every year on 31 May, World No Tobacco Day was also observed in different districts of Arunachal Pradesh with the aim of saving lives of people from hazardous tobacco products.
The union health & family welfare ministry launched the National Tobacco Control Programme (NTCP) in 2007-08, during the 11th Five Year Plan, and it was launched in Arunachal in 2015. Since then, the team of NTCP is working hard to save youths from addiction.
In Arunachal, the STCC is gradually establishing its sub-branches in every district, in collaboration with the non-communicable diseases department.
It is essential to learn the history of tobacco. Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of the plant known as Nicotiana tabacum, which can be consumed or be used as an organic pesticide.
The cultivation of tobacco began in South America circa 5000-3000 BC. In 1560, Frenchman Jean Nicot (Nicotine) introduced tobacco to France. From there, it was first brought to India by Portuguese merchants around 400 years ago. Now we have large factories in our country, with thousands of workers working in them.
It should be noted that major harmful effects of tobacco include lung cancer, oral cancer, heart attack, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and other deadly diseases. It can also lead to miscarriages in pregnant women.
Even tobacco production companies print warnings on their products, saying the products are injurious to health.
Usually, people become addicted to tobacco through peer pressure, curiosity generated by their parent(s)’ smoking, the aura created by actors smoking in movies, the social media, etc, which show tobacco consumption as a normal activity.
Most people know their negative effects and they try to quit, but they do not.
Here are some suggestions to quit tobacco consumption: If someone wants you to try smoking or other tobacco related products, you say, “No, I don’t want to,” walk away from the spot, change the subject, avoid the situation, and stay away from such friends for some time or days. For more details visit your nearest tobacco control cell.
People should work together to fulfill the vision of a healthy life and a tobacco-free state. (The contributor is a social work mobilizer from the West Siang District Tobacco Control Cell.)
