Over 12,800 Educational Institutions Declared Tobacco-Free In Haryana

Chandigarh, Jul 19 : As many as 12,865 educational institutions in Haryana have been declared tobacco-free under the Centre’s Tobacco-Educational Institutes guidelines, a senior official said on Sunday. Additional Chief Secretary, Health and Family Welfare, Sumita Misra, said the state has recorded remarkable achievements under the National Tobacco Control Programme during the first two quarters of the financial year 2025-26, reinforcing its commitment to creating a tobacco-free society through effective enforcement, awareness generation, cessation services and community participation. The Tobacco-Educational Institutes guidelines list various activities that schools and colleges must carry out to keep campuses tobacco-free. These include display of “Tobacco-free area” signage inside the premises, display of “Tobacco-free educational institution” signage at the entrance or boundary, no evidence of tobacco use in the premises, display of awareness materials on harms of tobacco, at least one tobacco control activity every six months, nomination of Tobacco Monitors, inclusion of tobacco-free policy in school code of conduct, marking a yellow line 100 yards around educational institutions to designate a tobacco-free zone and ensuring no shops or vendors sell tobacco products within that 100-yard zone. In a statement, Misra said Haryana has secured the second position in the country in terms of the number of tobacco control pledges under the National Tobacco Control Programme, reflecting widespread public participation and strong inter-departmental coordination. She added that the government is also making rapid progress towards creating tobacco-free villages, with 1,128 villages already declared tobacco-free. She said that stringent enforcement of tobacco control laws remains a priority of the state health department. Misra said tobacco cessation centres, functioning in all district hospitals and 17 medical and dental colleges, provided counselling and treatment services to 20,414 tobacco users, helping them quit tobacco through professional counselling and pharmacotherapy. State Nodal Officer, National Tobacco Control Programme, Brahmdeep Singh, said extensive awareness activities have played a significant role in achieving these milestones. During the first half of the financial year, 13,524 educational institutions were evaluated, over 10,500 tobacco-free pledge sessions were organised, 4,255 school rallies and 4,633 awareness competitions were conducted across the state. He added that under the Tobacco-Free Village initiative, 1,444 gram sabha meetings, 2,247 awareness activities, and the constitution of 1,002 village-level coordination committees have strengthened community participation. The programme has also maintained an extensive digital outreach through social media platforms, ensuring continuous public engagement on tobacco control, he said. The health department reiterated its commitment to further strengthening enforcement, expanding cessation services and promoting tobacco-free environments across educational institutions, villages and public places, thereby contributing towards a healthier and tobacco-free Haryana.