The Department of Commercial Taxes will soon become part of the inter-departmental efforts to campaign against the use of tobacco products.
“Involving Commercial Taxes Department will help government curb illicit trade in tobacco products to a great extend. They can identify and seize the smuggled tobacco products that come without the statutory pictorial warnings,” said Saju V. Itty of the Kerala Voluntary Health Services.
Since rules prohibit advertisements or promotional campaigns, some of the businessmen, mostly beedi manufacturers, offer discount coupons through the packets they sell. “This is an indirect way of marketing and remains a challenge to the policy makers,” said Mr. Itty. “While the Ernakulam district is gearing up to be declared as a No-Tobacco District, one of the many challenges is the functioning of the school-protection committees. They are not monitoring the situation,” Mr. Itty said. They should be able to create a tobacco-free environment around the schools, he added.
World No Tobacco Day was observed on Sunday.
