COTPA implementation: Kerala Government authorises Excise Inspectors

The Kerala Government vide GO(P) No. 155-2014/TD dated 20 September 2014 has authorised Excise Department for implementing COTPA, 2003. Officers of the rank of the Excise Inspectors and above can now take action under Sections 12 and 13 of COTPA.

Section 12 of COTPA 2003 states: (1) Any police officer, not below the rank of a sub-inspector or any officer of State Food or Drug Administration or any other officer, holding the equivalent rank being not below the rank of Sub-Inspector of Police, authorised by the Central Government or by the State Government may, if he has any reason to suspect that any provision of this Act has been, or is being, contravened, enter and search in the manner prescribed, at any reasonable time, any factory, building, business premises or any other place,

a. where any trade or commerce in cigarettes or any other tobacco products is carried on or cigarettes or any other tobacco products are produced, supplied or distributed; or 

b. where any advertisement of the cigarettes or any other tobacco products has been or is being made.

(2) The provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, shall apply to every search and seizure made under this Act.

Section 13 of COTPA 2003 reads: (1) If any police officer, not below the rank of a sub-inspector or any officer of State Food or Drug Administration or any other officer, holding the equivalent rank being not below the rank of Sub-Inspector of Police, authorised by the Central Government or by the State Government, has any reason to believe that, 

a. in respect of any package of cigarettes or any other tobacco products, or

b. in respect of any advertisement of cigarettes or any other tobacco products, 

the provisions of this Act have been, or are being, contravened, he may seize such package or advertisement material in the manner prescribed.

(2) No package of cigarettes or any other tobacco products or advertisement material seized under clause (a) of sub-section (1) shall be retained by the officer who seized the package or advertisement material for a period exceeding ninety days from the date of the seizure unless the approval of the District Judge, within the local limits of whose jurisdiction such seizure was made, has been obtained for such retention.

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TFK salutes Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan

Tobacco Free Kerala salutes Hon'ble Union Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan for championing the cause of tobacco control

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Expert Committee recommends sterner tobacco control measures

An expert committee set up by the Health Ministry for recommending amendments to the Tobacco Regulation Act is likely to recommend that the minimum age for smoking be increased to 25 years from the current 18 years.

The committee is also in favour of raising fines for tobacco related offences, including smoking in public, but has decided that the increase should be at a reasonable level. However, the final report on amendments to the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act (COTPA), 2003, is yet to be prepared.

Former Delhi Health Secretary Ramesh Chandra, who heads the committee, said the report will be ready early next week.

“We are in favour of raising the minimum age for smoking to 25 years. We also want fines for tobacco-related offences to be raised and among the suggestions that we have received is one that says that the fine for smoking in public should be Rs 20,000. We have not taken a call on what that amount should be but we understand that proposing an amount that is not practical will only cause the government to reject that recommendation. We do not want that. We also want the sale of loose cigarettes to be stopped and the size of the pictorial warning to be raised,” said one of the members of the committee.

Members explained that the inputs of the committee are more of a technical nature, delineating international best practices and the health effects of tobacco. “The final shape of the report is being decided in consultation with the ministry representative,” explained a member. 

Among the other offences for which the committee wants fines to be raised are for sale of tobacco products to underage people, advertisements at the point of sale and repeat offenders especially when they are traders or companies violating COTPA regulations.

Source: Indian Express

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Radio Benziger takes up the cause of tobacco control

In the interest of public health, Radio Benziger – India’s first hospital based radio has begun dedicated transmission of tobacco control messages in association with Tobacco Free Kerala – a coalition working for tobacco control in Kerala. 

The transmission, which began on August 30, involves multiple repeats of spots on the harms of tobacco, made available by Tobacco Free Kerala in liaison with World Lung Foundation, the technical partner to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in tobacco control communications.

Currently, 30-second Malayalam spots titled ‘Artery’ and ‘Dhuan’ are alternately repeated eight times over the radio’s 15-hour daily broadcast period. ‘Artery’ describes how cigarette/bidi smoking clogs up the main artery leading to the heart and ‘Dhuan’ is about the dangers of second hand smoke as a result of smoking which is banned in public places. 

Under the Indian tobacco control law, COTPA 2003, smoking is prohibited in all places where public has access as of right or not; violations can invite a spot fine of up to Rs 200. The law empowers 21 categories of officials including Police, Health and Education to act against violators.

Fr. Ferdinand Peter, Director, Radio Benziger said, “Tobacco is a leading preventable cause of many fatal illnesses, and this current project is part of our efforts to forewarn and save the lives of as many people as possible, especially children, from the maladies of this sinful substance. Though we have tackled tobacco control earlier as well, this is first time we have dedicated specific time slots for this purpose in our community radio.”

Radio Benziger, which began operations in 2010, now reaches over 4 lakh people around a 20 km radius in and around Kollam district.  The major target group of the radio is the coastal population.

A study conducted by Regional Cancer Centre (RCC) and Bhabha Atomic Research Centre in coastal wards of Kollam Corporation last year had brought out that nearly 37% males smoke tobacco – much higher than the Kerala average of 27.9% and national average of 24.3% for males, as per the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (2009-10).

Shri S Jayaraj, State Coordinator, Tobacco Free Kerala said, “We are happy that Radio Benziger readily accepted our proposal for transmitting tobacco control messages through their network. We are looking forward to a strong partnership with this popular community Radio in the fight to save our people, mainly the younger generation from tobacco harms.”

Radio Benziger can be heard by tuning in to FM 107.8 MHz. Programme sharing is possible through ‘Ek Duniya Anek Awaaz’ - a web based free and open audio content and resource exchange platform for community radio broadcasters.

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