India's Tobacco Free Youth Campaign 3.0: Empowering a Generation

In an ambitious move to combat tobacco use among young people, Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Anupriya Patel, unveiled the third edition of the Tobacco Free Youth Campaign 3.0 in New Delhi. The campaign, launched at a hybrid event, seeks to empower India's youth towards a tobacco-free future by raising awareness and promoting resistance against peer pressure.

Minister Patel highlighted the critical issue of tobacco consumption's impact on public health, particularly among children, who often fall victim to early experimentation leading to addiction and chronic diseases. The government has taken significant measures to regulate tobacco portrayal across media and strictly prohibit tobacco advertising, alongside banning electronic cigarettes and mandating prominent health warnings on tobacco packaging.

The initiative forms part of a broader effort aligned with the Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyan, aiming to reduce substance abuse nationwide. The campaign underscores the importance of community and youth involvement while strengthening tobacco control laws across educational institutions, broadening public awareness, and expanding the Tobacco-Free Villages initiative.

(With inputs from agencies.)