Kolkata, July 23 : The West Bengal government has taken special initiatives to wean school students off tobacco addiction. A new Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) has been issued and sent to the chief health officer of each district, said a government official on Thursday.

The guidelines state that an anti-tobacco awareness programme will be conducted in every school. If someone is addicted to tobacco, they will be given behavioural counselling. If necessary, they will be sent to a higher health centre.

According to the new SOP, every school will have to conduct a self-assessment of 100 marks once in six months. Only schools that score 90 per cent or more will receive the certificate of 'Tobacco-Free Educational Institution' (TOFEI).

The initiative has been taken following a recent survey on youth which showed that 8.5 per cent of students between the ages of 13 and 15 are addicted to cigarettes or gutkha in Bengal.

A special team is being formed in each block to make schools tobacco-free. The team will include Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK) Medical Officer, Staff Nurse, Pharmacist, Research Counsellor and Block Health Manager. They will visit schools in the block.

Experts believe that this initiative of the West Bengal government will help students in giving up tobacco addiction. Public health officials said that the aim of the Tobacco Free Educational Institution (TOFEI) programme is to make all educational institutions tobacco-free. The anti-tobacco Act (2003) should be enforced more strictly, as per the SOP.

In addition to raising awareness about the harmful effects of tobacco, the students will also be informed about the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA) 2003.

Quizzes, posters, and debate competitions will be organised in schools. The responsibility of the research counsellors is to create awareness among students as well as parents. Discussions about the harms of tobacco will be held in parent teacher meetings.

A tobacco monitoring committee will be formed in every school. They will check whether tobacco is being sold within 100 yards of the school. Coordination between parents, local panchayats, youth organisations, and police stations will be established in schools to prevent the sale of tobacco

According to the Health Department, to get the certificate of a tobacco-free educational institution, the school will have to comply with some conditions. A 'Tobacco Free Area' board will have to be hung in a conspicuous place on the school campus. A banner of a tobacco-free institution will have to be placed at the main gate of the school. There will be no signs of cigarettes, bidi pieces, gutkha, khaini packets, or spit stains on the school premises.

/IANS