Amendments to tobacco control law a step towards healthy India: BJP leader

Amendments to the tobacco control law COTPA can be a step towards realizing the dream of building a healthy and tobacco-free India, says BJP spokesperson Guru Prakash Paswan.

The writer and law expert was speaking as part of an online discussion titled 'India's Resolution for a Healthy India, Tobacco Free India' organised by Tobacco Free India.

Nearly 28 per cent of adults (aged 15 years and above) are known to consume tobacco products. Even more distressing is the fact that 9 per cent of children aged between 13 and 15 years of age consume tobacco in some form or the other.

"We are sitting on a ticking timebomb and need to take quick action to ensure our demographic dividend does not convert into a demographic disaster, opined Paswan, who is also an author and Assistant Professor of law at Patna University.

Youth and children are particularly vulnerable as the powerful tobacco lobby uses several methods such as surrogate advertising and placing ads at points-of-sale (PoS) to lure them.

Promoting tobacco consumption as a way to look cool and fashionable is also a reason for growing tobacco consumption among the youth. A lot of celebrities are also endorsing tobacco products, which is adversely affecting our next generation, he says.

We cannot let our youth idolize people who consume or promote consumption of tobacco products. We cannot let tobacco ruin our next generation. We must come together as a society and fight this menace. The proposed amendments to the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA), 2003 can prove to be a step in this direction, said Paswan.

Dr Uma Kumar, renowned public health expert and Head of the Department of Rheumatology, AIIMS, Delhi said, In addition to causing deaths and diseases, tobacco products also burden the country's economy by around Rs 1.77 lakh crores annually, which is roughly 1 per cent of GDP. Affected families not only face the loss of the loved ones, but are also drained financially, emotionally, and mentally.