Union Ministry of Education has launched a nationwide campaign on Tobacco Free Educational Institutions (ToFEI)
- As part of the National Tobacco Control Programme (NTCP), the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India, has issued the Tobacco Free Educational Institution (ToFEI) Guidelines for safeguarding minors and youth from tobacco use.
- The objective is to make educational institutions across the nation comply with the ToFEI guidelines and become #Tobacco Free Area.
- Tobacco use is one of the major causes of preventable deaths and diseases in India and accounts for nearly 1.35 million deaths every year in the country.
- India is also the second largest consumer and producer of tobacco.
- According to Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS) 2019, 8.5 percent of school students in the age group of 13 to 15 consume tobacco in different forms across the country.
