Compliance of Tobacco Free Educational Institution (ToFEI) Guidelines among Schools in Goa, India: An Observational Study

Abstract

Background & objectives: Tobacco use is a risk factor for many non communicable diseases and also the leading cause of preventable death globally and in India. Government of India released the Tobacco Free Educational Institute (ToFEI ) Guidelines as a tobacco control initiative in an educational Institution. The present study assessed the compliance of these guidelines among schools in Goa. Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted among 314 Goan schools to assess the ToFEI guideline implementation. Data collection was done using the scorecard for ToFEI comprising of 9 criteria including the mandatory ones and the weighted points were calculated. Interpretation & conclusions: Only 9.6% of the schools complied with the tobacco free school policy. The mean ToFEI score of the schools was 49.87± 28.11. The mandatory score of 50 was achieved by 33.8% schools. The compliance of private schools was better as compared to Government and aided schools. Around 67.8% of schools had a display of Tobacco-Free area signage inside their premise. There is a need for better implementation of the guidelines to make the schools Tobacco Free.