New Delhi, Sep 24 (IANS): Tobacco kills 13 lakh people every year in India, said Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Prataprao Jadhav on Tuesday.

While virtually launching the second edition of the Tobacco-Free Youth Campaign, at a hybrid event at Lady Hardinge Medical College, Jadhav said, “Every year around 13 lakh people lose their lives due to tobacco in India.”

“Tobacco has become a fashion statement among the youth but it can lead to dangerous diseases like cancer,” he added.

The Tobacco-Free Youth Campaign 2.0 aims to protect the health and well-being of young people from the harmful effects of tobacco.

As part of it, the MoS also inaugurated tobacco cessation centres in medical institutions across India.

Jadhav motivated the youth to prioritise their health over tobacco use, as it’s closely linked with the development of the nation.

The MoS stated that “good health is intrinsically related to own as well as closed one’s happiness”.

He also urged elders to take responsibility for ensuring the youth don’t fall into tobacco use.

The new 60-day campaign prioritises five key areas. It includes increasing public awareness about the dangers of tobacco; improving compliance with the revised guidelines for Tobacco-Free Educational Institutions (ToFEI) to keep schools and colleges free from tobacco; strengthening the enforcement of tobacco control laws, especially COTPA 2003 and the Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes Act (PECA) 2019, to limit youth access to tobacco; promoting Tobacco-Free Villages; and boosting social media outreach.

Renowned celebrities, sportspersons and influencers like Aparshakti Khurana, Manu Bhaker, Navdeep Singh, Ankit Baiyanpuria, Gaurav Chaudhary and Janhvi Singh also addressed the gathering and shared insightful views.

The first Tobacco-Free Youth Campaign was introduced last year, on May 31, in celebration of World No-Tobacco Day.

The campaign was a huge success, with over 1,42,184 educational institutions and more than 12,000 villages declared tobacco-free, according to the health ministry.