National Tobacco Control Program (NTCP)

Government of India launched the National Tobacco Control Program (NTCP) in the year 2007-08 during the 11th Five-Year-Plan, with the aim to create awareness about the harmful effects of tobacco consumption, reduce the production and supply of tobacco products, ensure effective implementation of the provisions under “The Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 2003” (COTPA).
Goals and Objectives:
• To build up capacity of the States / Districts to effectively implement the tobacco control initiatives;
• To train the health and social workers;
• To undertake appropriate IEC activities and mass awareness campaigns, including in schools, workplaces, etc.;
• To set up a regulatory mechanism to monitor/ implement the Tobacco Control Laws;
• To establish a system of tobacco product regulation.
• To provide facilities for treatment of tobacco dependence.
• To take necessary action, in co-ordination with other stakeholders, to fulfil the obligations(s) under the WHO Framework convention on Tobacco Control.
Over the year (2009-10 and 2016-17) the prevalence of tobacco use has declined to 4% in Uttarakhand.
Service Delivery
• Implementation of the prohibition of Electronic Cigarette (production, manufacture, import, export, transport, sale, distribution, storage and advertisement) bill throughout the State.
• Declaration of 20000 Educational Institutes (Schools and Colleges) tobacco free according to revised Guidelines for Tobacco Free Educational Institutions.

National Program for Control of Blindness & Visual Impairment (NPCB&VI)
National Programme for Control of Blindness was initiated in 1976 as 100% centrally sponsored programme with the goal to reduce prevalence of blindness to 0.3% by 2020 by developing eye care infrastructure, human resource, improving accessibility to quality eye care services. Main cause of blindness in children and young adults is refractive error and in + 50 adults cataract.
Objectives:
• To reduce backlog of blindness through identification & treatment of blind at Primary, Secondary & tertiary level.
• To provide high quality comprehensive eye care to the affected population.
• To expand coverage of eye care services to the underserved areas.
• To enhance community awareness on eye care and lay stress on preventive measures. .
• To develop institutional capacity for eye care services by providing support for equipment, consumable material and training personnel.
Blindness has come down from 1% in 2006-07 to.36% in 2019, people suffering from blindness has reduced from 12 million in 2006 to 4.8 million in 2019.
Burden of Blindness:
 Prevalence of Blindness – 1.1%. (Blindness Survey 2001-02).
 Prevalence of Blindness – 1.0%. (Blindness Survey 2006-07).
 WHO Goal – reduction of prevalence of avoidable blindness to 0.3% by 2020.
 NHP target – to reduce the prevalence of blindness to 0.25% by 2025 and disease burden by one third from current levels.