Itanagar, Jun 20: In a moment of pride for the mountainous state, Arunachal Pradesh has been awarded the title of Best Performing State under the Smaller States category for the “Tobacco-Free Youth Campaign (TFYC) 2.0” by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), Government of India.
The award was presented by V Hekali Zhimomi, Additional Secretary, MoHFW, and Dr L Swasti Charan, DDGD (EMR), Directorate General of Health Services, MoHFW, at an event held in New Delhi.
Dr Hatobin Mai, in-charge State Programme Officer, National Tobacco Control Programme (NTPC), and Karpa Marde, State Consultant (NTCP), Directorate of Health Services, Government of Arunachal Pradesh, received the award on behalf of the state.
The Tobacco-Free Youth Campaign 2.0, conducted from September 23 to November 24, 2024, focused on protecting youth from tobacco use, raising public awareness, and empowering communities to reject tobacco industry tactics. It aimed to create a society free from the harms of tobacco by establishing tobacco-free educational institutions, empowering rural communities, and strengthening enforcement of tobacco control laws.
The campaign spanned across all 26 NTCP-implemented districts of the state, including Itanagar Capital Region, Yupia (Papumpare), Pasighat (East Siang), Bomdila (West Kameng), Ziro (Lower Subansiri), Tawang, and many more.
Key achievements under TFYC 2.0 in Arunachal included: IEC activities/campaigns conducted: 2,250; village-level awareness campaigns: 851; Gram Panchayat resolutions for tobacco-free jurisdictions: 279; tobacco-free village declarations: 404; number of educational institutions declared tobacco-free: 2,120; institutions covered through awareness drives by DTCCs: 3,356; enforcement drives held across districts: 201; number of persons challaned under COTPA 2003: 972; and penalty collected under COTPA violations: Rs 2,33,600.