Delhi seeks to tighten rules for smokers

GOVERNMENT WANTS TO BAN SALE OF LOOSE CIGARETTES AND RAISE MINIMUM BUYING AGE

Federal authorities in India are proposing a slew of measures to discourage smoking. Federal health minister J. P. Nadda yesterday informed parliament that his ministry has accepted an expert panel’s recommendations and has circulated a draft note to amend the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2003 before it is put before the Cabinet for consideration.

In a written reply given in the Rajya Sabha, Nadda who took over as the new health minister on November 9, said that the proposal include blanket ban on sale of loose cigarettes, increase minimum age to purchase tobacco products and hike substantially penalty for smoking in public places.

The Cabinet is expected to clear the proposed amendment, which then would be brought before the parliament for its approval in the ongoing winter session.

The idea is to curb consumption of cigarettes and make India a healthier place to live in. The government’s attempts to curb smoking by constantly raising excise and taxes on cigarettes have failed. The tobacco industry contributes Rs250 billion ( Dh14.85 billion) a year to the exchequer and this revenue stream is expected to come down drastically as experts estimate cigarette consumption may decline by 10 to 20 per cent after the proposed amendments.

Nearly 70 per cent of cigarettes are sold loose in India as many young people can either not afford to buy them or carry a packet home. A packet of 10 cigarettes on an average costs about Rs90 and roadside vendors sell them for Rs10 a piece.

Raising the age to be able to purchase cigarettes and other tobacco products would be raised from the existing 18 to 25 — the minimum age required to buy or consume alcohol.

Cigarette and other tobacco products cannot be sold in the vicinity of educational and religious institutions. A ban on smoking in the public imposed six years ago has failed to curb smoking due to feeble penalties and lack of enforcement officials authorised to penalise violators on the spot.

The only success so far has been the ban on smoking inside restaurants, pubs, bars and discotheques unless there is a designated smoking zone at such establishments.

The ban on sale of loose cigarettes, if implemented, may render millions of roadside vendors unemployed. Their earnings had taken a hit when the government in the past banned chewable tobacco products.