Frontlist | No participation in events sponsored by tobacco firms :Delhi govt

Frontlist | No participation in events sponsored by tobacco firms :Delhi govt
on Jan 06, 2021

In the interest of “public health”, Delhi government asked its schools to avoid participating in any event sponsored by firms promoting sale or use of tobacco in any form. This comes after the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health and Family Welfare sounded caution against e-cigarette manufacturing companies, which promoted these devices as “harm reduction” alternatives of smoking. It is important that we remain vigilant against such attempts to target young children and protect them from exposure to tobacco use. As per guidelines issued by the MoHFW, a Tobacco Free Educational Institute must not participate in any event sponsored by any firm or seller which promotes the use, manufacture or sale of tobacco products in any form. Prizes or scholarships offered by such firms should not be accepted by educational institutions or students,” the Directorate of Education said in a circular on Thursday. Last year, the Centre had banned e-cigarettes and similar devices through “The Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes (Production, Manufacture, Import, Export, Transport, Sale, Distribution, Storage and Advertisement) Act, 2019. The notices were issued based on the statement of the Convention Secretariat of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHOFCTC) on “Foundation for Smoke Free World (FSFW)”. The convention said FSFW was established in 2017 and has received a pledge of $80 million USD annually for 12 years starting in 2018 from a tobacco company. WHO FCTC also added that through the said foundation, the tobacco company has been trying to influence