Anti Tobacco Campaign

The project aimed to strengthen and augment ongoing tobacco control advocacy in India and bolster government-NGO partnership at all levels, to enable a politically, legally and socially conducive environment to strengthen effective enforcement of existing tobacco control legislation, through development of mechanisms to monitor enforcement and report violations. Simultaneously, the project also involved vigorous advocacy for strengthening weak provisions and call for effective enforcement of existing legislation. As part of the project, done in partnership and with support from HRIDAY, data was collected on the key indicators having a bearing on the tobacco control scenario in the district of Mewat. Monitoring systems were designed with the district health officials, “No smoking” boards were provided and installed in all the government offices and public places like banks, Public Distribution shops, Primary Health Centers, bus stops etc. Several rounds of consultations were held at the district and block levels. Capacity building workshops were conducted for law enforcers and other NGOs; interventions were made to ensure implementation and awareness of provisions on smoke free, pack warnings, prohibition on advertising and tobacco taxation. A massive campaign was conducted to declare some communities/districts smoke-free and if possible, tobacco free. A time bound campaign of six months resulted in affirmative action and awareness in the community. The campaign was also broadcast on community radio.