Health Ministry to launch ‘Tobacco Free Youth Campaign’ on May 31

The Union Health Ministry is planning to launch a 60-day pan India campaign on the theme ‘tobacco-free youth’ on May 31 which will focus on taking steps to prevent initiation of tobacco use among youngsters and assisting users to quit.

Tobacco use has declined but data reveals that its use is still unacceptably high among adolescents and adults in India.

According to the Global Youth Tobacco Survey, current tobacco use among young adolescents (13-15 years) in 2019 was 8.5 per cent and in the previous round (2010), it was 14.6 per cent - a decline of 42 per cent.

Initiatives like ‘tobacco-free educational institution’ are part of the campaign being planned for World No Tobacco Day observed on May 31.