Arunachal Pradesh Government Declares Hospitals Tobacco-Free Zones

OUR CORRES PONDENT

ITANAGAR: In a major public health initiative, the Arunachal Pradesh government has declared all hospitals and healthcare institutions across the state as strict "Tobacco-Free Zones" with effect from May 19.

The directive, issued by State Health and Family Welfare Commissioner Pawan Kumar Sain on Thursday under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA), 2003, applies to all government and private healthcare facilities, including district hospitals, community health centres (CHCs), primary health centres (PHCs), sub-centres and medical colleges across the northeastern state.

According to the order, the use of all forms of tobacco, including smoking, gutkha, paan masala and chewing tobacco, has been completely prohibited within hospital premises. The ban covers hospital buildings, wards, offices, corridors, parking areas, gardens and canteens.

The department also reiterated the COTPA provision banning the sale and distribution of tobacco products within a 100-yard radius of healthcare institutions.

As part of the new measures, all healthcare facilities have been directed to install prominent "No Tobacco Zone" and "Tobacco Kills" signboards at entry points, waiting halls and other visible locations.

Hospitals have also been instructed to place collection boxes at entry gates where visitors carrying tobacco products must deposit them before entering the premises. To ensure strict compliance, medical superintendents and medical officers of each institution have been designated as "Tobacco Monitors" and authorised to report violations and oversee implementation of the guidelines.

The department has also imposed a complete ban on the spitting of tobacco products inside hospital campuses, citing the risk of spreading infectious diseases. It also clarified that no designated smoking areas will be allowed within any healthcare institution.

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