YUPIA, Nov 2: Papum Pare district has launched the 60-day Tobacco-Free Youth Campaign 4.0 to strengthen tobacco control measures and prevent tobacco use among young people, particularly schoolchildren.
Additional Deputy Commissioner Tame Yajum formally launched the campaign at the DC Conference Hall, Yupia, on Monday. The campaign, which began on October 28, will continue until December 26.
Addressing the District Tobacco Control Committee (DTCC), Yajum called for coordinated efforts among stakeholders to raise awareness and reduce tobacco consumption across the district. She also suggested using testimonials from individuals who had overcome tobacco dependence, with their consent, on social media to inspire others.
Earlier, the ADC administered the No Tobacco Pledge to participants.
District Medical Officer Dr Reena Ronya said the National Tobacco Control Programme (NTCP), launched in Arunachal Pradesh in 2007–08, was introduced in Papum Pare in 2015. She highlighted the district team's performance in 2024, when it recorded the highest revenue collection through challans for violations of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA).
Emphasising prevention among young people, Ronya called for sustained awareness programmes in schools and greater involvement of the Deputy Director of School Education and school authorities. She also stressed regular enforcement of COTPA in public offices and public premises, noting that the DTCC had an important role in coordinating the efforts of different departments.
District Programme Officer, NTCP, Dr Lobsang Chuki, presented the campaign's action plan and implementation strategies. Key interventions include public awareness drives, promotion of tobacco-free educational institutions and villages, enforcement of COTPA and the Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes Act (PECA), social media engagement and outreach to colleges and universities.
The campaign seeks to involve students, educational institutions, communities and Govt departments in creating a tobacco-free environment and protecting the younger generation from the harmful effects of tobacco.
The meeting was attended by DRCHO Dr Tomar Kamki, DDSE, DDSA TT Tara, Deputy Director RD Bengia Yakar, and representatives of the police, educational institutions and Narcotics Department, among others. (DIPRO)