Set up child tobacco help centres: High Court

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.