New Report: India’s Anti‑Smoking Laws Are Ineffective

Source from:  Vapingpost 03/05/2021

“Glaring gaps” in India’s tobacco control legislation make it “ineffective for regulating tobacco consumption and exposure to second-hand smoke,” argues the report. These concerns are not new, an earlier report published in 2015, had similarly pointed out that the regulations in place were not delivering the desired results.

“Compared with many countries around the world, India has been proactive in introducing tobacco control legislation since 2003…. However, the legislation currently in place is not delivering the desired results — in terms of dissuading tobacco use and encouraging quitting,” said Geoffrey Fong, a professor of psychology at Canada’s University of Waterloo, who had co-authored the 2015 report.

India’s Tobacco Act is outdated

Calling for amendments to the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2003 (COTPA), the new report points out that this act was developed too long ago and needs updating. “Though the Act intended to be a comprehensive law on tobacco control, it was adopted more than 15 years ago. Also, the law was developed before [the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control] came into force [in 2005 and was ratified by India]. Now, with the passage of time, lacunas in the Act have become apparent and proved to be a key challenge in terms of effective implementation [sic],” said report author Professor Ashok R. Patil, chair of consumer law and practice at NLSIU, as quoted by the Financial Express.

Experts worry that set at 18 years, the current tobacco age limit leads to early initiation, and that the availability of single cigarettes and other loose tobacco products for sale, makes smoking more accessible, affordable and prevents smokers from being “regularly exposed to the warning labels the law requires on tobacco packaging.” Moreover, the report adds, the regulations around advertising and sponsorship in relation to tobacco products are so vague that they prevent authorities from setting clear advertising restrictions.