Mizoram adopts strategy to become smoke-free

Aizawl, June 23: The Mizoram government Wednesday adopted a four-pronged strategy to make the mountainous state smoke-free, officials said here Wednesday.

"The Smoke Free Mizoram Committee (SFMC), under its chairman and Health Minister Lalrinliana Sailo, met Wednesday and finalised the four strategies," a senior health department official told reporters.

The strategies are effective tobacco control and implementation of Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2003, massive awareness campaign for different groups in the community, increasing taxation on tobacco products and banning some tobacco-related products that are extremely harmful to health.

The SFMC comprises state Chief Secretary Van Hela Pachuau, senior officials, elected leaders, chiefs of civil society and key functionaries of NGOs and Churches.

"Though no target has been fixed to make the highly literate state (with an 88.49 percent literacy) a smoke-free state, we would like to achieve the goal as early as possible," the official said.

According to Mizoram State Tobacco Control Society (MSTCS), the state, bordering Myanmar and Bangladesh, topped among all Indian states in tobacco consumption eight years back.

"A recent survey conducted by the MSTCS revealed that 71.2 percent of the total population of little over one million was addicted to smoking seven to eight years back. But the present figure stands at 55 percent, indicating an encouraging quit rate," Jane Ralte, programme officer of the Society told reporters after the meeting.

Ralte said the survey also found that 73.1 percent of the smokers want to kick the habit as they felt that smoking is the cause of many diseases, including cancer.

She said adults above 18 years of age were interviewed in the survey conducted earlier this year across the hilly state's eight districts.