Health Ministry TFYC 4.0 Reveals Wide Tobacco Free Gaps Across States

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare reports that the first three editions of the campaign declared more than 5.8 lakh educational institutions and over 73,000 villages tobacco free.

Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Prataprao Jadhav launched the Tobacco Free Youth Campaign 4.0 at the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Medical Sciences and Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in New Delhi.

This year’s 60-day drive shifts strong attention to universities and colleges. It aims to stop young people from starting tobacco use, support those who want to quit, tighten enforcement of existing laws and create more tobacco free spaces.

Jadhav urged students, teachers, families and communities to join hands so that India’s youth can lead healthy and addiction-free lives.

National Picture and Official Numbers

The campaign has grown steadily since 2023.

• TFYC 1.0 declared more than 1.42 lakh educational institutions and 12,000 villages tobacco free and collected fines exceeding Rs 1 crore.
• TFYC 2.0 added 1,67,762 institutions and 27,534 villages while collecting fines above Rs 1.1 crore.
• TFYC 3.0 recorded 2,57,807 institutions and 33,850 villages, carried out over 58,000 enforcement drives, issued 1,45,477 challans under Section 4 of COTPA and trained more than 60,000 enforcement staff and cessation counselors.

Together, these efforts produced the national total of over 5.8 lakh institutions and 73,000 villages now listed as tobacco free.

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Six Clear Strategies Guide TFYC 4.0

The Ministry has set out a six-pronged plan for the new edition:

• Intensify public awareness about the harm tobacco causes
• Strengthen tobacco free educational institutions
• Expand the tobacco free villages program
• Tighten enforcement of COTPA 2003 and the Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes Act 2019
• Use social media and digital platforms to reach more young people
• Place universities and colleges at the center of the drive

Why the Gaps Matter Now

TFYC 4.0 places universities and colleges at the center. States that already maintain strong school-level compliance stand better placed to expand into higher education. States that lag leave large numbers of young people exposed precisely when nicotine dependence takes hold most easily.

Enforcement numbers also vary in visibility and often fail to match the declared tobacco free claims. Continued exposure carries long-term health and economic costs that national headlines alone cannot address.

Focus on Colleges and the Bigger Goal

Adolescence and early adulthood remain the stages when most people start using tobacco. TFYC 4.0 therefore gives special space to higher education. Universities and colleges will work to keep campuses free of tobacco, run awareness programs and help students make informed decisions.

Jadhav reminded the gathering that tobacco smoke contains more than 7,000 chemicals, many of them toxic and cancer-causing, and that nicotine harms brain development, attention, memory and learning in young people.

Health Secretary Punya Salila Srivastava underlined that a physically and mentally healthy, confident and addiction-free generation forms an essential part of the vision of Viksit Bharat. The Ministry will work with other central ministries, state governments, enforcement agencies, educational institutions, local administrations, civil society and healthcare professionals to widen the campaign’s reach.

Jadhav administered the ‘Say No to Tobacco’ pledge to everyone present and asked young people to carry the message into their schools, colleges, families and communities. The campaign now looks to turn national numbers into everyday action so that more young Indians grow up free from tobacco and addiction.