The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Panel to check violations of Cigarettes and Tobacco Act

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Thursday, Jul 17, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Panel to check violations of Cigarettes and Tobacco Act

Ramya Kannan

It will ensure functioning of Section 6 pertaining to advertisements

Process of forming the committee has begun
It will act as a cell where people can lodge complaints

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu has initiated the process of setting up a State-level monitoring committee to check advertisement-related violations of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 2003.

The committee will be in charge of monitoring violations and charging violators all over Tamil Nadu. It will also be among the first such State-level committees to be set up in the country, according to V.K. Subburaj, Health Secretary, who will also chair the committee.

While government orders are yet to be issued, the process of forming the committee and defining its role has already begun, he told The Hindu.

The main role of the committee will be to ensure the functioning of Section 6 of the Act, pertaining to advertisement and surrogate advertisements, according to T.E. Selvavinayagam, Deputy Director (Tobacco), Directorate of Public Health.

This includes regulating the size of the advertisement board at the point of sale, issuing statutory warning, direct advertisements in the form of hoardings and television and newspaper ads, brand stretching and surrogate ads, portrayal of smoking and consuming tobacco products, and event sponsorship by tobacco companies, he added.

Once the committee has been established, it will be a cell to which people can directly send in their complaints, Dr. Selvavinayagam explained.

Blatant depiction

Stressing the need for such a monitoring body, he said there were some blatant depictions of smoking, especially in television serials and films; the mandatory scrolls with statutory warnings were not being displayed by many channels. In addition, a lot of events were being promoted by tobacco companies.

What was lacking hitherto was a forum to monitor the situation and launch action when it came across violations.

“We have received complaints that people are distributing free samples/sachets of tobacco products, such as gutka and pan masala to students in and around schools. We have even conducted raids, but have not been able to catch anyone. Once the cell is active, members of the public can call in or send complaints via e-mail to the members. It will be able to take action then,” he added.

As per the Act, first-time violation will attract a punishment of two years imprisonment and a fine of Rs.1000; the second time, the fine amount will be increased to Rs.5000 and the number of years of imprisonment will also go up to five.

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