Tobacco | Consumer Voice

Cigarettes, tobacco shops can no longer sell chips, biscuits, candies, soft drinks

by admin | Nov 30, 2017 | Tobacco

Cigarettes, tobacco shops can no longer sell chips, biscuits, candies, soft drinks

The union ministry of health and family welfare has said that shops licensed to sell tobacco products will not be allowed to sell any non-tobacco products that may attract the attention of children. The move is aimed at preventing exposure of children to tobacco products.

“It is felt that the regulation of tobacco products can be made more effective. It will be appropriate to develop a mechanism to provide permission or authorisation through municipal authority to the retail shops who are selling tobacco products,” stated Arun Kumar Jha, economic adviser in the ministry of health and family welfare, in a letter dated 21 September 2017.

“Further, it would also be appropriate to make a condition or provision in the authorisation that the shops authorised for selling tobacco products cannot sell any non-tobacco products such as toffees, candies, chips, biscuits, soft drinks, etc., which are essentially meant for non-user, especially children,” Jha said in the letter.

The health ministry also emphasised on various rules and regulations in place to prevent tobacco exposure. The Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2003 (COTPA), specifically prohibits smoking in all public places, prohibition of direct and indirect advertisement, promotion and sponsorship of cigarettes and other tobacco products, prohibition of sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products to minors and within 100 yards of any educational institution, and display of health warning, including pictorial warning on ill effects of tobacco use on the packages of all tobacco products.

“The central government has enacted the Cigarettes and other Tobacco products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulations of Trade and Commerce Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 2003 (COTPA), to discourage the use of tobacco, with emphasis on protection of children and young people from being addicted to the use of tobacco, with a view to achieve improvement of public health in general,” stated Jha.

The central government has also enacted the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, which makes giving, or causing to be given, any child any tobacco products punishable with rigorous imprisonment for a term which may extend up to seven years.

Tobacco products still available around Delhi schools despite ban – Consumer VOICE Field Research reveals

by admin | Nov 17, 2017 | Tobacco

Consumer VOICE has been tirelessly fighting against the menace of tobacco. In one of its efforts to bring to the notice of the government that COTPA Act is openly, flouted, the field research team observed 30 schools in Delhi and to its dismay found cigarettes and tobacco products being sold openly by kiosks in close vicinity to the school. Read on the complete report published in a leading National Daily.

Tobacco products are still being sold close to schools, both private and government, despite restrictions on kiosks or shops within 100 yards of a school to help curb tobacco menace in children.

Observational visit was undertaken by Consumer Voice Delhi, an organisation working on consumer issues, covered 30 schools in south and east Delhi. They found tobacco being sold in 11 schools. The non-government organisation covered both government and private schools.

“As our field research proved, there’s a deadly infiltration of tobacco products around schools despite laws banning the same. Children are being lured into trying out tobacco, which ultimately becomes a habit leading to deadly health consequences. We urge the Delhi government to ensure there are no kiosks or shops near schools and that they should be removed from the 100-yard vicinity of schools to help curb tobacco menace to save innocent children. Tobacco is openly available near educational institutions despite a ban on its sale within 100 yards of a school campus,” said Ashim Sanyal, the chief operating officer of Consumer Voice.‘Deadly infiltration’

The violation, according to those working in the field of tobacco control, is happening despite government claims about taking several stringent measures to curb the menace of tobacco products, and sale of tobacco products in shops near schools and colleges is on a high. This is a violation of the Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act (COTPA), 2003.

According to the Global Youth Tobacco Survey, conducted by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare among students across the country, 14.6% of 13 to 15-year-olds students use tobacco. Of these, 8.1% students smoked tobacco. As many as 11% of all male students surveyed were found to be users of smoking or smokeless tobacco, while 6% of female students used smokeless tobacco and 3.7% smoked tobacco.

According to the Ministry, nearly 37% children in India start smoking before the age of 10 years and 5,500 children start tobacco use daily. The findings of these studies highlight the need for targeted interventions among the youth in general and students in particular, given the marketing overdrive by the tobacco industry to promote its use among the youth.

Authorised shops

The Ministry had recently issued letters to Chief Secretaries of all States, including Delhi, regarding developing mechanism to provide permission/ authorisation through municipal authorities by making a provision that retail shops authorised to sell tobacco products cannot sell any non-tobacco products. The Centre has appealed to the State municipal authorities to regulate sale of tobacco through authorised shops.

“Every day, 5,500 children get lured into tobacco use and a third of them die due of cancer, heart attack, asthma,’’ said Harit Chaturvedi, surgical oncology, Max Health Care, New Delhi.

COTPA Act openly violated near schools in Delhi

by admin | Nov 1, 2017 | Tobacco

Speaking to one of the correspondents of a leading national daily, Mr. Ashim Sanyal, COO, Consumer VOICE, India revealed that COTPA (Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 2003) is openly violated near the school of south and East Delhi.

The field researchers of Consumer VOICE surveyed 30 schools in Delhi and found shops and kiosks selling tobacco products in the close vicinity of the school that is less than yards from the school.

“As our field research proved, there’s a deadly infiltration of tobacco products around schools despite laws banning the same. Children are being lured into trying out tobacco, which ultimately becomes a habit leading to deadly health consequences. We urge the Delhi government to ensure there are no kiosks or shops near schools and that they should be removed from the 100-yard vicinity of schools to help curb tobacco menace to save innocent children. Tobacco is openly available near educational institutions despite a ban on its sale within 100 yards of a school campus,” said Ashim Sanyal, the chief operating officer of Consumer Voice.

GATS Report Shows Sharp Decline in Tobacco Consumption in India

by admin | Jun 3, 2017 | Tobacco

GATS Report Shows Sharp Decline in Tobacco Consumption in India

The recently released 2016-2017 Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) report shows a remarkable reduction of tobacco consumption from 34.6% in 2009-10 to 28.6% in 2016-17. As a result there are over 8 million fewer tobacco users today than there were just seven years ago despite the growth in the Indian population.The most encouraging news is the decreased use of tobacco among the youth. The prevalence of tobacco use among Indians aged 15 to 24 fell by 33 percent, from 18.4 percent to 12.4 percent. Among youth aged 15 to 17, tobacco use fell by 54 percent. All this confirms that India’s package of public health laws are working to reduce tobacco use and save lives.

Actions adopted by the Indian Government

Since 2010, India’s leaders have taken a series of strong actions at both the national and state level to curb the country’s enormous tobacco epidemic, which claims one million lives each year. These actions include large, graphic warning labels that cover 85 percent of tobacco products. India’s warnings are among the largest in the world, showing that graphic warnings depicting the deadly consequences of tobacco use work to help current users quit and prevent people from starting to use tobacco.

Although India’s long battle to put graphic warnings on tobacco products has been fought by tobacco companies at every step, and is still being challenged by the tobacco industry in court in Karnataka, this policy has had a profound effect on smokers’ attitudes. Tobacco warnings on packs encouraged adults to quit cigarette which increased from 38% to 61.9% in 2016-2017.

India has also increased tobacco taxes at the state level and many states have banned gutka, a popular, but deadly form of smokeless tobacco. India’s latest data show that smokeless tobacco use has declined by 24 percent – a historic decrease that will save many lives in a country known as the oral cancer capital of the world.

Ongoing Effort by Indian Government

Despite these historic strides, there are still 267 million tobacco users in India. There are 199 million smokeless tobacco users, 72 million bidi smokers and 32 million dual users. The three most commonly used tobacco products in India are khaini (a form of smokeless tobacco), bidis and gutka – making an emphasis on bidis and smokeless tobacco a high priority.

To further reduce tobacco-related death and disease in India, the government must strengthen its implementation of its existing tobacco control measures, as called for the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC), with particular focus on policies meant to reduce the use of bidis and smokeless tobacco products. These measures include smoke-free public places, increased tobacco taxes, warning labels on tobacco products, effective mass media campaigns and restrictions on tobacco advertising.

This week, the Indian government took an important step and announced that it will tax cigarettes, smokeless tobacco and bidis at the highest rate of 28 percent under a new Goods and Services Tax (GST) structure. The government must make sure that none of these products are exempted and stand strong against the tobacco industry appeals and lobbying that will start immediately to water down the decision.

World No Tobacco Day Celebration 2017 by Consumer VOICE and its State Partner – Guwahati (Assam)

by admin | Jun 2, 2017 | Tobacco

Consumer Legal Protection Forum,Guwahati with support of Consumer VOICE organized a workshop on to celebrate World No Tobacco Day on June 2, 2017 athotel Fame City. Mrs. Arundhati Deka, Nodal Officer State Tobacco Control Cell Govt.of Assam, was the Chief Guest at the programme. Mrs. Deka said all government departments need to be proactive to control tobacco use.

Panelist Dr.Sarbana Misra Bhagabaty, Asst. Prof. from Dr.Baruah Cancer Institute, expressed her views on subject and said “Say no to Tobacco not only to yourself but to everyone around you.

Another panelist Mr.Victor Rajkumar said “We all are responsible because we all suffer.” Mr.Hemant Upadhyay, Senior Advisor, Consumer VOICE gave the presentation on the harmful effects on tobacco use. About 60 participants marked their presence in the event.

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World No Tobacco Day Celebration 2017 by Consumer VOICE and its State Partner – Shimla (Himachal Pradesh)

by admin | Jun 1, 2017 | Tobacco

World No Tobacco Day Celebration 2017 by Consumer VOICE and its State Partner – Shimla (Himachal Pradesh)

On the World No Tobacco Day, the Himachal Upbhokta Sanrakshan Parishad, Shimla organized a workshop with the support of Consumer VOICE to spread awareness on tobacco use on 1, June, 2017 in Shimla. The Chief Guest of the programme Mrs.Isha Thakur, Assistant Commissioner, Shimla in her address said people are consuming tobacco for enjoyment or for addiction but both are very harmful.

Women should also play an important role to spread awareness on quitting tobacco. Renowned oncologist Dr.Gopal Chauhan said smokers are at a greater risk for diseases that affect the heart and blood vessels. Dr.Ramesh Jaiswal, NHRM highlighted the work done by the government on the awareness on tobacco use. Mr.Ashim Sanyal, Chief Operating Officer, Consumer VOICE addressed the audience and urged the government to take measures like taxation to control the menace of tobacco. There was a large participation from civil societies and groups of Women from Aganbari in the workshop.

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