Ban tobacco

Social Media
Jun 13
2 min read

Stop the sale of tobacco near school premises!

Students' firm demand

To mark World Anti-Tobacco Day, students strongly demanded a ban on stalls selling tobacco products and energy drinks around school and college premises. A memorandum was submitted to Municipal Corporation Deputy Commissioner, Vijaykumar Mundhe, and Additional Superintendent of Police, Prashant Khaire, through the joint initiative of our Udaan and Balbhavan projects.

The memorandum stated, as per government rules, the sale of tobacco products is banned within 100 meters of educational institutions. However, in reality, such stalls are commonly found, and there is a risk of increasing addiction among students.

Key demands made by the students:

Immediate ban on stalls selling tobacco and energy drinks in school and college premises.
Joint action by the municipal corporation and police administration to remove the encroachments of such shops.
Prohibition of the distribution of health-harming drinks like energy drinks.
Schools should be encouraged to conduct awareness campaigns urging parents to avoid giving pocket money to students.
Regular school bag checks should be conducted, and if any objectionable items are found, parents should be informed immediately.

We aim to empower the voices of marginalised communities at grassroots level, representing their opinions in policy making. Under the initiative of State Convener, Heramb Kulkarni, and under the guidance of Snehalaya Director, children form our Paris Balbhavan presented their concerns and requests.

Our students' initiative is inspiring for other schools in the area, and we are hopeful that the concerned authorities will take their request seriously and act promptly. Our children have spoken and we hope the Municipal Corporation collaborates with our local police force to acknowledge the legal and ethical issue at hand and take prompt action in enforcing a strict ban on the sale of cigarettes or any other tobacco products near or around educational institutions, especially schools.