Shillong:
World No Tobacco Day was observed in the state on Wednesday under the theme “My Meghalaya-Tobacco free Meghalaya.”
A programme was held at the State Convention Centre wherein, chief guest Rakkam A Sangma, Education Minister, urged the students present at the programme to ‘choose life, not tobacco’.
As a majority of the attendees were students, the minister took the opportunity to speak on competing for the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).
He expressed concern that there has been no IAS officer from the indigenous people for the last 10 years. He advised students to not be distracted by tobacco use.
Meanwhile, chairman of Meghalaya State Health Advisory Board and Nongpoh MLA Mayralborn Syiem said that besides saying ‘no’ to tobacco, the students should also learn to say ‘no’ to plastics which has a huge impact on the environment.
On the other hand, Syiem also expressed concern about the rise of early marriage among school students and said, “Everyone has to get married at the right age, you should not hurry.”
Joint Secretary of Education department and Director of School Education and Literacy Swapnil Tembe informed that there are 14600 schools in the state and about 10 lakh students in the state.
In Meghalaya, 47 per cent of adults (age 15+) [Global Adult Tobacco Survey, 2017] and 33.6% of youths (aged 13-15) [Global Youth Tobacco Survey, 2021] consume tobacco (smoke or smokeless). Tobacco-related deaths in the State exceed 8,000 per annum.