VHAA welcomes move to make South Asia tobacco-free by 2030

The Voluntary Health Association of Assam (VHAA) has welcomed the Dhaka Declaration on Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) action in South Asia to make South Asia tobacco-free by 2030.
"We welcome India's decision to endorse the Dhaka Declaration to make South Asia tobacco-free by 2030. It is indeed very commendable and significant that Indian legislators are also leading from the front in the context of tobacco control," said VHAA executive secretary Ruchira Neog.
"The Speaker of Lok Sabha Sumitra Mahajan has reiterated India's commitment in the war against widespread tobacco use, including the country's new warning labels," Neog said.
The Dhaka Declaration, which was adopted during the South Asian Speakers' Summit on achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) held at the Bangladesh capital on January 30 and 31, stated, "We recognise that a tobacco-free South Asia by 2030 is important to ensure health and wellbeing of the people of the region."

"As Speakers of Parliament in the region, we see the value of meeting on a regular basis to share experiences and best practices, as well as to review progress on the implementation of the SDGs," the declaration said.
Speakers of Parliament from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives and Sri Lanka had gathered in Dhaka for the South Asian Speakers' Summit.

In South Asia, tobacco is the leading cause of non-communicable diseases, which kills 1.5 million people annually of which one million are in India, Neog said.
South Asian Parliament Speakers have agreed to prioritise tobacco control policies - in particular, those of the World Health Organisation Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), in their efforts to meet the SDGs and to achieve a tobacco-free South Asia by 2030, she said.

Stating that Mahajan had attended the event and chaired a session on 'The role of Parliaments in implementing the SDGs,' Neog said India would host the second meeting of South Asian Speakers' Forum in 2017.
VHAA, a premier non-profit organisation working in the field of public health, has been for the last few years working on the issue of tobacco control through direct intervention initiatives and activities towards making smoke-free districts and tobacco-free educational institutions, as well as through high level advocacy and campaigning for policy level changes towards tobacco control, she added.