CONTENTS
- Investing in Persons with Disabilities
- New-Age Gateway Devices, the Latest Health Threat
Investing in Persons with Disabilities
Context:
Persons with disabilities (PwDs) continue to face widespread social stigma, marginalization across all sectors, and discrimination in education and employment, all of which undermine their dignity. Educational institutions often lack the infrastructure and support systems needed for PwDs, while workplaces fall short in implementing robust diversity policies that would ensure proper representation of PwDs.
Relevance:
GS2- Welfare Schemes for Vulnerable Sections of the population by the Centre and States and the Performance of these Schemes
Mains Question:
Educational institutions lack the necessary infrastructure and workplaces lack robust diversity policies to give proper representation to persons with disabilities. Discuss. (10 Marks, 150 Words).
Education for PwDs:
- According to a 2023 report on Nifty 50 companies, only five out of the 50 companies have more than 1% of PwDs on their payroll, with four of these being public sector companies.
- Additionally, data from the National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People reveals that less than 1% of India’s educational institutions are disabled-friendly.
- Less than 40% of school buildings have ramps, and only about 17% have accessible restrooms.
- The Sarthak Educational Trust’s report, “Accessibility and Inclusion in Higher Education in India,” highlights that while the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, provides for reservations in government jobs and incentives in non-government jobs, implementation is severely lacking.
- The combination of inadequate infrastructure and insufficient inclusive policies severely limits the full participation of PwDs in society. Therefore, both public and private institutions must invest in uplifting PwDs.
Changes Needed in the Indian Education System:
- The Indian education system needs an inclusive framework to better support PwDs. For instance, Harvard University in the U.S. has Local Disability Coordinators who specialize in helping PwDs find accommodations in the city.
- Similarly, Stanford University has a strong institutional structure that provides housing support and devices for PwDs, along with a comprehensive resource center for students with disabilities.
- Few Indian universities offer such robust models. In 2023, Shiv Nadar University introduced a disability support policy that provides personalized support to students based on their health condition each semester.
- Depending on the nature and severity of the disability, the Dean of Academics decides on academic accommodations, while the Dean of Students addresses other aspects.
- However, these measures are not standardized across institutions, leaving many students from diverse backgrounds unsupported.
- Despite the University Grants Commission’s draft guidelines for accessibility and inclusivity in higher education, which aim to ensure that admission announcements and advertisements are circulated in accessible formats, the representation of PwDs in Indian institutions remains low.
Employment for PwDs:
- Regarding employment, despite legal requirements mandating reservations for PwDs and the creation of equal opportunity policies aimed at fostering an inclusive work environment and preventing workplace discrimination, many employers have not complied.
- To ensure these regulations are effectively enforced, states should take proactive steps to develop a compliance mechanism.
- An example to consider is Brazil, where companies with more than 100 employees are required to have PwDs make up 2%-5% of their workforce.
- Failure to comply can result in fines, with the amount determined by factors such as the company’s size and the frequency of violations.
- Additionally, some countries have introduced incentive systems. For instance, Japan offers subsidies to companies that employ individuals with disabilities.
Pursuit of Dignity for PwDs:
- The pursuit of dignity for PwDs remains a challenge. British artist David Hevey once noted that “the history of the portrayal of disabled people is the history of oppressive and negative representation.”
- This has led to PwDs being viewed not as individuals with their own identities but as flawed versions of able-bodied people.
- Society often sees PwDs as pitiable or helpless, and there is a common misconception that they can only form relationships with others who are disabled.
- When combined with factors like caste or gender, disability can create a double or triple burden.
- Sociologist Colin Barnes has observed that PwDs are frequently depicted as objects of pity, violence, curiosity, and ridicule, as burdens on society, sexually abnormal, and generally incapable of participating in community life. This negative portrayal shapes societal attitudes towards PwDs.
- For example, a recent video featuring three former cricketers mocking PwDs went viral after India won the World Championship of Legends.
- Such incidents, along with the daily struggles and stigmatization PwDs face, highlight the failure of so-called “able-bodied people” to treat them with equal dignity.
Conclusion:
In his book ‘The Grammar of My Body’, Abhishek Anicca writes, “My friends say disabled people can be negative. I agree. We are so negative that sometimes the able-bodied mind never reaches us. That distance is too far… It is thus those who are creating the distance [who] should bridge the gap.”
New-Age Gateway Devices, the Latest Health Threat
Context:
What happens when a supposedly healthier alternative turns out to be more dangerous than the original? This is exactly what is occurring with modern gateway devices like e-cigarettes, vaping pens, Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS), heat-not-burn (HNB) devices, and other heated tobacco products (HTPs).
Relevance:
GS2- Health
Mains Question:
Portrayed as offering a healthier alternative to smoking and quitting tobacco, new-age devices like e-cigarettes, vaping pens etc are now causing a public health crisis among young people. Analyse. (10 Marks, 150 Words).
Concerns Associated with New-Age Devices:
- These devices were marketed as healthier alternatives to smoking, designed to make quitting tobacco easier. However, the reality is quite different.
- A new pandemic is emerging. Rather than helping people quit tobacco, manufacturers of these new-age gateway devices have found a profitable market in children, leading to a surge in youth vaping and creating a new epidemic.
- For instance, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2023, e-cigarettes were the most commonly used tobacco product among middle and high school students in the United States, with 2.1 million (7.7%) students using e-cigarettes, including 550,000 (4.6%) middle school students.
- These devices are now hooking a new generation on nicotine, exposing them to potential long-term health risks.
Impact of these Devices on Children:
- Children have been enticed into trying and becoming addicted to e-cigarettes and vaping devices through targeted marketing of flavors like strawberry, cotton candy, pop rocks, and lemonade.
- Beyond the alleged predatory marketing tactics, mental health issues and the negative effects of excessive technology use are also pushing some children toward these devices.
- The psychological impact on children operates on two levels. First, children are increasingly vulnerable to new-age devices from a very young age.
- What was once primarily an adolescent issue—engaging in distracting activities and developing addictive behaviors—has now extended to children under 10, who are showing signs of vulnerability.
- The age group most at risk remains those between 10 and 20 years old, a demographic that manufacturers reportedly target with appealing advertising and enticing vape flavors.
- The colorful imagery associated with these new-age gateway devices suggests that they bring happiness and elevate social status, drawing in targeted children.
- In their desire to fit in, children often prioritize peer preferences over their own, leading them to embrace vaping and other harmful behaviors.
- Those who vape are more likely to experience loneliness and social isolation compared to their peers who do not.
- These psychological factors are contributing to a troubling rise in children being attracted to alluring electronic devices like vapes and e-cigarettes.
A Gateway to Danger:
- Another critical aspect is the impact these habits have on the physical and mental well-being of children.
- While the physical effects, such as lung damage and the spread of e-cigarette or vaping use-associated lung injury (EVALI), have become apparent, it’s equally important to focus on the mental health impact of these new-age gateway devices on children.
- The Australian Institute of Family Studies, a statutory agency of the Australian government, has reported evidence indicating that vaping has harmful effects on those who use e-cigarettes.
- With the rising rates of e-cigarette use in Australia and globally, these new-age gateway devices are linked to mental health issues such as depressive symptoms, anxiety, perceived stress, and suicide-related behaviors among adolescents.
- Key risk factors include positive peer attitudes towards vaping and parental smoking. E-cigarettes are particularly addictive for individuals up to around the age of 25, a developmental stage that makes them especially susceptible to the structural and chemical changes caused by nicotine addiction.
- Once addiction sets in, it can increase the likelihood of developing other substance use disorders later in life, creating a vicious cycle.
- So, what is inside these new-age gateway devices that is driving this increased addiction?
Survey Findings:
- In November 2022, *JAMA Network Open*, a medical journal published by the American Medical Association, released findings from a survey of over 150,000 respondents.
- The survey revealed that more adolescent e-cigarette users reported using their first tobacco product within five minutes of waking compared to users of cigarettes and other tobacco products combined.
- This highlights the powerful grip that nicotine addiction has on the adolescent brain.
- The study further explained that e-cigarettes are highly engineered drug delivery devices designed to create and sustain addiction.
- Later versions of e-cigarettes, particularly those developed after 2015, became more efficient at delivering nicotine.
- The addition of benzoic acid to the nicotine e-liquid produces protonated nicotine, which increases the addictive potential by making it easier for users to inhale large quantities of nicotine—levels that are difficult to achieve with traditional cigarettes or earlier e-cigarette models. This results in heightened addiction and a stronger mental dependency on these devices.
- Moreover, these new-age gateway devices are also being used to experiment with more potent substances such as cannabis, and even cocaine and heroin.
Conclusion:
Instead of aiding in quitting, these devices have sparked a public health crisis, causing physical harm and impacting the mental well-being of children. Many children, teenagers, and even parents mistakenly believe that vaping only involves harmless water vapor and pleasant flavors. The reality, however, is far more dangerous and can lead to a lifetime of substance abuse problems.
