Many shops in the city that sell tobacco products operate in contravention of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA) regulations, a study has found.
Apart from banning sale of tobacco products close to educational institutions and smoking in public areas, the Act prohibits advertisements, display of tobacco products, and provision of ashtrays or lighters at these shops.
A recent study by the Department of Public Health Dentistry, The Oxford Dental College and Hospital shows that these regulations are barely followed in the city.
More than three-fourths of the shops had product showcasing, while a staggering 81.9% had boards displaying promotional messages, said the study headed by Aishwarya Sampath, published in the Journal of Indian Association of Public Health Dentistry recently. Furthermore, 30.6% of the shops had tobacco logos at the point of sale, while nine in 10 shops had more than one advertisement placed inside their establishment. In terms of the tobacco warning sign, the survey finds that more than 88% of the stores did not display warnings against tobacco consumption or no-smoking signage.
“The results suggest a lack of compliance with tobacco-advertising ban among stores selling tobacco in Bengaluru city. POS advertising has become a strategic location for tobacco companies to advertise their brands,” concluded the study.
Also problematic was that more than four in five shops kept cigarettes close to chocolates or sweets counter. This, says th veryday items”.
The study surveyed 1,280 shops by selecting four random areas in eight Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) zones in the city. These shops covered supermarkets, liquor shops, grocery shops, while small shops formed half of the establishments that were surveyed.
The study also showed that 80% of the shops sold cigarettes in loose. While the study was conducted months before the Karnataka government banned the sale of loose cigarettes in September 2017, little seemed to have changed on the ground.
Lack of awareness
For most, the promotional hoardings and boards have been given by the cigarette companies themselves for free. And the lack of enforcement does not help. A shopkeeper selling cigarettes in Shivajinagar s know about this. There has been no warning or instructions given by civic authority or police.”
‘Licensing needed’
While enforcement of the COTPA occurs in spurts and temporary drives, the fines levied are doing little to curb violations, said Vishal Rao U.S., an oncologist and a member of member of the High-powered Committee on Tobacco Control instituted by the State government.
“There are enough signs that the tobacco industry is reimbursing these fines for shopkeepers. This is encouragement for them to continue placing hoardings. Instead, what we need is a way to counter this trend through licensing and threatening them with suspension of licences,” said Dr. Rao.
Currently, there is no licence for venders of tobacco products. “It is a legal product, but it needs to be licensed so that the conditions of COTPA can be implemented. There is a discussion on introducing these licences, like they have done in Himachal Pradesh, so that when violations are found, the licence can itself be suspended,” said Dr. Rao.
However, the proposal is running into resistance from the tobacco lobby which has been raising the bogey of “employment” to curtail action.
