Tamil Nadu Drug-Free Campaign: Over 1 Crore Students Take Anti-Drug

More than 1 crore students from 14,000 schools and 4,900 colleges across Tamil Nadu took an anti-drug pledge as part of the State-wide Drug-Free Tamil Nadu campaign on Tuesday.

The pledge was administered by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay to around 2,000 students representing 73 educational institutions at the Presidency College Auditorium in Chennai. The programme was streamed live to educational institutions across the State, enabling students to participate in the campaign.

‘Drug and Tobacco Free Campus’ Initiative

The Chief Minister also launched the ‘Drug and Tobacco Free Campus’ initiative, aimed at strengthening awareness and prevention measures in educational institutions.

Under the programme, new students will receive orientation on drug abuse, legal consequences and counselling options. Anti-Drug Clubs will also be strengthened, with trained peer ambassadors expected to identify early behavioural changes and help students access appropriate support.

The initiative includes annual health and psychological evaluations, confidential testing where necessary, independent counselling and CCTV surveillance on campuses.

100-Metre No-Tobacco Zones

As part of the campaign, areas within 100 metres of educational institutions will be declared ‘No-Tobacco Zones’. Police and Food Safety Department officials will inspect shops operating in these areas to prevent the sale of banned tobacco products.

During the event, the Chief Minister also witnessed through video conference the destruction of seized narcotics at Chengalpattu, Thanjavur, Coimbatore and Tirunelveli. Around 1 lakh kg of ganja and banned tobacco products were destroyed.

Drug Cases and Seizures in Tamil Nadu

Officials said 10,040 drug cases involving 14,400 accused had been registered in Tamil Nadu up to August 10 this year. Authorities seized around 17,500 kg of dry ganja, 8.9 lakh tablets and 200 kg of other narcotic substances.

In addition, 13,150 cases were registered for the sale of banned tobacco products. Authorities seized around 1.61 lakh kg of banned tobacco products, collected ₹8.3 crore in fines and sealed 2,744 commercial establishments.

The State-wide campaign aims to strengthen drug awareness among students, campus safety, counselling support and enforcement measures, while encouraging educational institutions to create safer and healthier environments for young people.