At least 54% of high school students in Mizoram are using tobacco products, officials of the Mizoram State Tobacco Control Society said in Aizawl today.
A study conducted among 2,295 students between class eight and ten reveals that 23% of these students smoke cigarettes while the remaining 31% use tobacco in other forms, the society officials said.
"Many school teachers are found to be smoking not only in public, but inside the school campus," the officials said, adding that the practice not only encourages students to use tobacco but also places them at the risk of having cancer through passive smoke.
The section of the Control of Tobacco Products Act (COPTA), which prohibits smoking in workplaces, bans sale of tobacco products to minors and within 100 yards of educational institutions, is yet to be formally enforced in the state, the officials lamented.
According to the latest National Family Health Survey, 83% of male population in Mizoram use tobacco while 60.8% of the female population use tobacco products making the state India’s number one in tobacco consumption.
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