Indus Valley Times

By Our Correspondent

Bhubaneswar: Considering the grave scenario of tobacco impact on youth, People’s Cultural Centre (PECUC), a leading voluntary organization of Odisha, in cooperation with Coalition for Tobacco Free Odisha (CTFO) organized a mock Youth Parliament on‘Improving Public Health by Reducing Tobacco Use’ featuring 80 young participants from all corners of the state.

Rajya Sabha MP  Amar Patnaik, MP, Rajya Sabha, Smt Sulata Deo, Anant Narayana Jena, MLA, Bhubaneswar along with other dignitaries including  Advocate, Supreme Court Ranjit Singh and State  Consultant to Directorate of Public Health, Tobacco control Dr. G. S Mishra, CTFK Anup Mishra graced the occasion. Ranjan Kumar Mohanty, Secretary, Minakshi Panda, Chairperson and Anuradha Mohanty, Executive Director, from PECUC coordinated the programme.

MP Rajya Sabha Amar Patnaik emphasized the importance of addressing tobacco-related health hazards among the youth. He said, “Our youth represent the future of our nation, and it is our collective responsibility to ensure they have a healthy and tobacco-free future. Tobacco use poses a grave threat to their health and well-being, and it’s crucial that we take concrete steps to protect them from this harmful addiction. This initiative is really necessary and commendable to educate the youth through this mock parliament.”

MP Rajya Sabha Sulata Deo weighed in on the issue stating, “I congratulate the PECUC Team for taking this bold initiative and organising such a wonderful programme for encouraging our youth to participate the decision-making process of our government from such an early age. Tobacco not only affects the health of individuals but also burdens our healthcare system and hampers our nation’s progress. We must work together to combat tobacco use among our youth and ensure a brighter and healthier future for them.”

The Youth Parliament while praising the government for introducing the new rule for display of an anti-smoking warning on OTT platforms raised issues about how the current COTPA, 2003 law misses out on many aspects when it comes to making public places tobacco free. Hence, the Youth Parliament raised a motion for a COTPA Amendment Bill which will be discussed in the next session.

During the Youth Parliament session, various topics related to tobacco were discussed, with a focus on the dangers of second-hand smoke and the need to raise the minimum age for tobacco use to 21 years. Participants emphasized the importance of making schools tobacco-free zones and demanded to ban the display of tobacco advertisements near educational institutions to protect young students from exposure to tobacco and its harmful effects.

Devendra Pradhan, Satya Shiv Rath, Sasmita Sahoo and Harihara Nayak facilitated the programme.