New Delhi, Nov. 5 (PTI): Joining hands with the government in the “no tobacco” campaign, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has directed universities across the country to take immediate action to remove cigarette shops around their campuses.

“The shops, if any, selling cigarettes and other tobacco products around the university, are to be removed immediately,” the UGC said in a recent circular to vice-chancellors of all universities and deemed universities.

The UGC said that to ensure effective implementation of these provisions, boards inside universities and their affiliated colleges should prominently state that sale of cigarettes and tobacco products in an area within a radius of 100 yards of a university is strictly prohibited.