Thiruvananthapuram

Speakers at a workshop here highlighted the ills of tobacco and drug use and said that children were most affected by it.

The day-long workshop was organised here Saturday under the aegis of the School Protection Groups (SPG) that represents students, teachers, parents' associations, police, ward councillors and merchant bodies. SPGs are functional in around 3,000 schools of Kerala.

A.S. Pradeep Kumar, additional director of Health Services, said: "Children are most affected by tobacco products. More than 30 percent of children in Kerala suffer from respiratory diseases. Environmental tobacco smoke far exceeds the permissible levels in our state. Passive smoking impairs brain development of children."

P. Vijayan, the state capital's police chief said: "Once addicted to tobacco, users graduate to other potent drugs. Under the influence of narcotics, they commit crimes."

He said that State Crime Records Bureau figures for 2009-10 show that crimes by and against children were on a steady rise.

The workshop was attended by hundreds of students, teachers, parents, police officers and ward councillors.

By:IANS

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