'Ban sale of loose cigarette sticks'

An experts' committee, constituted by the Union health ministry to review the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA), 2003, has come out with various recommendations, including a ban on the sale of loose cigarette sticks, a ban on advertisements of tobacco products at points of sale and heftier fines on violations of the Act.

The committee, set up in July, is headed by Ramesh Chandra, advisor in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

The panel proposed the amended Act be called the COTPA, 2014. It recommended the sale of loose cigarette sticks or tobacco products be banned, as youngsters were finding it "cheap" and "convenient" to consume tobacco products. It also recommended only those aged at least 25 be allowed to buy tobacco products, against the current 18 years. If implemented, the move might hit the profits of major cigarette companies in India, as a large number of their consumers are aged 18-25.

According to the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (covering those aged at least 15), about 35 per cent of the respondents consumed tobacco in some form. The percentage of men consuming tobacco stood at 47; for women, it was 20 per cent.

The panel recommended the penalty for not specifying nicotine and tar contents, under section 20 of the COTPA, 2003, be increased from the current Rs 5,000 to Rs 50,000 (for the first conviction). For smoking in public places, the penalty shouldn't be less than Rs 200, which could go up to Rs 1,000, the panel said.

For selling tobacco products to someone aged less than 18, the fine should be Rs 500-1,000, the committee said.

The penalty related to advertisement of tobacco products should be increased 10 times from the current Rs 1,000 (the first conviction), it added. Though advertisement of tobacco products through traditional media avenues is banned in India, points of sale are usually flooded with banner and poster ads of various tobacco products, especially cigarettes.

The committee recommended deleting section 4 of the Act, which would result in hotels and restaurants doing away with smoking zones in their premises.