MADURAI: Expressing anguish over school students getting addicted to a banned tobacco product called ‘Cool Lip,’ Madras high court directed Tamil Nadu govt to establish Child Tobacco Cessation Centres in all districts with experts to counsel and treat addicted children, reports K Kaushik.
HC also directed the Centre to issue orders to ban them.
“An extreme emergency looms. There is a sudden spurt of children using tobacco products, specifically a product named ‘Cool Lip,'” Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy said, earlier this week. He directed authorities to constitute a two-member tobacco monitoring committee consisting of a teacher and one volunteer from PTA in all schools to periodically inspect school premises and the vicinity and inform police station/food safety officer concerned.
The judge directed the state to provide a toll-free number or create a website for people to report sale of tobacco products. Schools shall also take students to cancer hospitals to create awareness about the ill effects of using tobacco, HC observed.