37% of school children in Nagaland smoke

At least 37 out of 100 school going children in Nagaland with 18 per cent female students are smokers as per a report on tobacco consumption profile in the state.

The tobacco consumption profile prepared by National Tobacco Control Programme under Nagaland Health and Family Welfare department based on various surveys reveals that overall consumption of tobacco in the state stands at 48 per cent against national average of 57 per cent.

Out of this, 68 per cent are male tobacco users against national average of 57 per cent and 28 per cent are female against national average of 10.80 per cent.

The report based on findings of Global School Personnel Survey (GSPS), Directorate of Health and Family Welfare oral disease surveillance and others, estimates the male school children smoking at 55 per cent and female at 18 per cent. While smokeless forms of tobacco are concerned, it estimates that 50 per cent users are male school children and 33 per cent female children with average such users among children stand at 41 per cent in Nagaland.

A recent state-level advocacy workshop on tobacco control laws here opined that a mass awareness on harmful effect of tobacco is the key to the success of implementation on ban on smoking in public places rather than the punitive actions against the violators.

Since the prohibition of smoking in Public Places Act came into force in October 2008, almost all the government departments in Nagaland notified their premises as prohibited areas by mounting hoardings, flexes or wall writings against smoking.

Addressing the workshop Health and Family Welfare minister Kuzholuzo Nienu said the government was well aware of the limitations in effective implementation of tobacco control laws despite having penalty clauses, so the emphasis was more given on preventive aspects through awareness campaigns among the masses.