To promote public health, NMC asks medical institutions to establish dedicated Tobacco Cessation Centres

New Delhi: The Health and Family Welfare Ministry has decided to set up Tobacco Cessation Centers in medical institutions across the nation to combat tobacco consumption and promote public health.

In a circular issued by the National Medical Commission on Friday, July 12, the authority stated that, in line with its commitment to promoting public health and combating the adverse effects of tobacco use, the Government has decided to establish Tobacco Cessation Centres in medical colleges across the country.

This initiative aims to strengthen the healthcare infrastructure by integrating specialized services for tobacco cessation into the educational and healthcare framework. The circular directed all the hospitals attached to each of the medical colleges to make provisions for a “Tobacco Cessation Centre.”

To implement the concept properly, the NMC has asked hospitals to set up special clinics that can be run by the Department of Psychiatry and/or other departments. To discourage tobacco consumption, the NMC has asked that the centres be established in rural health centres along with urban health centres that the college has adopted for training. "These Centres, along with tobacco cessation, will also work as Drug De-addiction Centres," it stated.

India Tobacco Control Report

According to data in the most recent India Tobacco Control report published by the Union Health Ministry, smoking has increased more than twice as much among teenage girls as it has generally decreased tobacco use in the nation. It's alarming to note that smoking rates are declining among older women while rising among teenagers.

Recently, the World Health Organisation (WHO) introduced its first guidelines to help people reduce tobacco consumption. The guidelines recommend a combination of behavioural support from healthcare providers, digital tools, and medications. The recommendations are for over 750 million tobacco users worldwide who use various tobacco products, including cigarettes, waterpipes, smokeless tobacco, cigars, roll-your-own tobacco, and heated tobacco products (HTPs).

India’s Global Youth Tobacco Survey 2019 found that the prevalence of tobacco among school-going children aged between 13-15 years was 8.4 per cent. Disconcertingly, the survey findings show that even before celebrating their seventh birthday, 11.4 per cent of children start smoking cigarettes, 17.2 per cent start smoking bidi and 24 per cent start using smokeless tobacco products like gutkha, khaini, and zarda.