India: State to Crack down on Tobacco Chewing, Spitting in Public

Source from:  Indian Express 07/01/2014

Tobacco consumers, especially those in the habit of spitting gutka or paan casually in public places, will have to be wary of the state government from August. The state health department is all set to crack down with fines on offenders found chewing gutka or paan masala or spitting tobacco products in public places.

As per Section 4 under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA), 2003, smoking in all public places is already prohibited. The state government is, however, attempting to increase the scope of prohibition to include other tobacco products as well as a clause of "spitting' in public places".

State principal secretary (health), Sujata Saunik said on Monday, "We are in the process of creating a penalty system for people found chewing tobacco or spitting it in public.

Since gutka and paan masala are banned in Maharashtra, even they will be included under the purview."

Public places according to COTPA are all places visited by general public namely auditorium, hospital buildings, railway waiting rooms, amusement centers, public offices, court buildings, educational institutions, libraries, coffee houses, canteens, banks, clubs and also open spaces surrounding hotels.

According to government officials, in order to allow a penalty for spitting tobacco in public spaces, the health department will have to introduce a 'government resolution'.

While in 2012 sale and consumption of gutka was banned by the state Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the ban was further extended to include paan masala, kharra and scented tobacco in 2013.

Saunik said the move to penalise tobacco consumers came after the health department felt a need to put a cap on tobacco's rampant consumption. According to Global Adult tobacco Survey India (2009-2010), in Maharashtra 31 per cent of population (15 years and above) were found using tobacco in various forms.

"Apart from curbing the usage of tobacco, we also want to keep public spaces clean. It is seen people spit on walls or in corners and government servants are expected to clean it," Saunik said.

"Currently, as a start the plan to penalise offenders will be implemented in all public hospitals and health departments. Since tobacco that is spit out is a major reason for spreading several infections, specially tuberculosis, we decided to first curb this practice in all health institutions," Dr Archana Patil, Directorate of Health Services.

The ban will be rolled out from August 1. A penalty system is yet to be devised by the health department. Enditem