BHUBANESWAR: Child Welfare Committee (CWC) issued an order to all the block education officers (BEO) of Khurda district directing to issue a new circular to all Government and private schools in the region for writing on the walls of institutes that the area is a free tobacco zone. The committee directed the block education officers of Khurda district to instruct the headmasters and principals of the schools to ensure that tobacco was not sold within 100 yards of the institutes, and lodge a police complaint if they found someone selling tobacco near the campuses.
Besides this, CWC has also asked the block education officers to mention in the circulars to school authorities for ensuring that teachers and parents do not consume tobacco inside the campus of the institutes. CWC has directed the block education officers to ensure that authorities of the schools discuss about tobacco issues in parents and teachers meetings. The committee has asked the block education officers to submit an action taken report in this regard within 30 days of receiving its order. “The committee received a petition filed by anti-tobacco activist Mohammed Imran Ali stating that school campuses in Bhubaneswar were not free from tobacco products.
Acting on the petition, the committee issued an order,” CWC member Benudhar Senapat i t o l d t h i s newspaper. According to a survey, over 6 lakh children in the country between the age group of 10 and 14 are addicted to smoking. According to another report, about 50,000 cancer cases are reported every year in Odisha and 50 per cent of the cases are linked to tobacco.