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WHO to award Rajasthan health department for checking tobacco use
The medical and health department of Rajasthan is one of the two from India, in the South-east Asian region, selected for the ‘World No Tobacco Day Award for 2019’.
Rajasthan’s medical and health department has been selected for the World Health Organisation (WHO) award for its contribution in the field of tobacco control.
In a letter to the medical and health department’s additional chief secretary Rohit Kumar Singh, the WHO representative to India, Henk Bekedam informed that the Rajasthan department is one of the two from India, in the South-east Asian region, selected for the ‘World No Tobacco Day Award for 2019’.
The award will be presented in New Delhi on May 31.
Health minister Raghu Sharma has congratulated the state tobacco control unit in-charge Dr SN Dholpuria and other employees of the department for the achievement. He said Singh will receive the award in New Delhi. “Large number of youngsters gets lured to tobacco. The more work done in the field of tobacco control, more youth can be saved from tobacco use,” he said.
He said the WHO has selected 33 institutions and individuals across the world for the award. In South-east Asian region, two have been selected from India, of which one is the Rajasthan government and the other is Prof Raj Kumar, director, Vallabhbhai Patel Chest Institute, New Delhi.
Sharma said that on January 30, 2019, on Sarvodaya Day, 11300,098 people were made aware about the ill-effects of tobacco and administered antitobacco oath at 1.56 lakh institutions including anganwari centres, schools, colleges, government offices and police stations.
Sharma said that the health department in coordination with some other departments has developed educational institutions, health facilities and anganwari centres as tobacco-free premises and have ensured that no tobacco product is sold within 100 yards of these places.
In 2018, the department had challaned 23,800 people for smoking in public places under the COTPA.
