BACKGROUND: Article 16 of WHO FCTC recommends complete ban on access and exposure of tobacco products to minor It is usually observed that tobacco products are being sold around educational institutions. Whereas Section 6b of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2003 ban use of tobacco products to and by minors and ban sale of tobacco products within 100 yards of any educational Institutions. The current study access the compliance with the tobacco free educational institutions (TOFEI) guidelines in Govt schools of Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
METHODS: A mobile based TOFEI compliance monitoring system was used to collect the data and was analysed using SPSS 2.0 software. After Implementation of all provisions of TOFEI guidelines, if the institution scored more than 90 points, after verification of submitted self-declaration, it was declared 'TOFEI compliant'.
RESULTS: Total no of Govt Schools in Jammu and Kashmir is 18723, ( source- Department of school education).
A total of 5,426 schools used the TOFEI monitoring application for self-evaluation wherein 771 schools were non-compliant to TOFEI and remaining 4,655 were found compliant to TOFEI guidelines.
About 94% of schools were found compliant to Section-4 of COTPA.
92% of schools were found compliant to Section- 6b of COTPA.
Overall, 84% schools were found TOFEI compliant and 16% were non-compliant to TOFEI in the state.
CONCLUSIONS: A Web-based monitoring system is a feasible option to monitor and upscale the implementation of TOFEI guidelines and transforming educational institutions into tobacco free zones.