Haryana Colleges, Universities To Become Tobacco-Free: Manohar Lal Khattar

New Delhi:

The Haryana government will be starting a new anti-tobacco drive in colleges and universities from January 26, 2021. Various authorities will be trying to make the students aware about harmful impacts of tobacco and discourage its usage. Haryana Chief Minister announced the anti-tobacco drive with an aim to make the educational campuses tobacco-free. Volunteers will be spreading anti-tobacco slogans and motivational thoughts across campuses to dissuade the students from consuming tobacco-based products.

To spread the message about the anti-tobacco drive, the Haryana Chief Minister tweeted from his official account, “All colleges and universities in Haryana will be tobacco-free from 26 January 2021. Slogans will be written in the campus of the institutes to make the students aware and various steps will also be taken to warn about the harm caused by tobacco”.

हरियाणा के सभी महाविद्यालय व विश्वविद्यालय आगामी 26 जनवरी, 2021 से तंबाकू-फ्री हो जाएंगे। विद्यार्थियों को जागरूक करने के लिए संस्थानों के कैंपस में स्लोगन लिखे जाएंगे तथा तंबाकू से होने वाले नुकसान के प्रति सचेत करने के लिए विभिन्न कदम भी उठाए जाएंगे।

— CMO Haryana (@cmohry) January 22, 2021

In line with the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2003 (COTPA), the Haryana government had already banned the sales of loose cigarettes and other non-permissible tobacco products across the state. It further banned sale of any tobacco products within 100 yards from any education institution.

The Haryana government had taken other steps such as putting up displays reading that education institutes are anti-smoking zones and violation of it will attract a fine of Rs 200. Each educational institution has been mandated to put up a ‘Tobacco free area’ sign outside the building and ‘Tobacco Free Educational Institution’ within the premises.