NEW DELHI : Soon, hospitals linked with medical colleges will have dedicated tobacco cessation centres, according to a latest circular by the National Medical Commission (NMC).
The health panel has directed medical colleges across the country to set up ‘tobacco cessation centres’ to combat the adverse effects of tobacco use and promote public health.
The initiative aims to strengthen the health infrastructure by integrating specialised services for tobacco cessation into the education and healthcare framework, the NMC circular said. “This can be a special clinic run by the Department of Psychiatry or other departments. These Centres should also be established in rural and urban health centres... will also work as Drug De-addiction Centres,” the circular read.
Reacting on the initiative, the Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA), which has been campaigning against tobacco for over a year, called it a welcome move but also emphasized on policy intervention for better implementation.