Loose ciggies, flavoured sachets to go off shelves

Loose ciggies, flavoured sachets to go off shelves

'Singles' will no longer be available at the street corner tea stall. Want a puff? Buy a pack. This logic, hopes the state health department, will help drive tobacco out of reach of the young smoker.

The department has recommended a ban on the sale of loose cigarettes and flavoured tobacco; the Centre had suggested banning chewable tobacco two years ago, but the state government was fumbling with it till now.

Once the new law comes into effect, cigarettes will be available only in packets and not as individual sticks. "When cigarettes are sold loose, the warning image and caution on packets don't reach the customer. The department has already compiled a report and sent it to the government," said UT Khader, minister for health and family welfare.

"The biggest target group of tobacco companies is youngsters — those aged between 10 and 18 years. This is the age when they get addicted to tobacco. But this is also the age when they cannot afford a cigarette packet with their pocket money. India is one of the few places where cigarettes are sold loose. We need to stop this, considering the serious health hazards it poses," said Dr Vishal Rao US, senior consultant and surgical oncologist -- head & neck, BGS Global Hospital and Oncology Institute.

Even when the sale of chewable tobacco was enforced in Karnataka in 2013, the ban was being circumvented by selling it in the form of flavoured tobacco or pan masala.

LOBBY AT WORK?

While the recommendations are being pushed by doctors, NGOs and health experts, crusaders say there is pressure from the tobacco lobby not to get them implemented. Despite the report and several sessions of deliberations, the government has yet not passed the law, they say.

It was initially in late 2012 that the special secretary, union ministry of health and family welfare, wrote to state secretaries to ban flavoured products as well. In August this year, the Union health minister issued another letter to all states to implement the ban.

While it was expected to be taken up at the recent cabinet meeting, the matter was deferred. The health minister, however, brushed aside all allegations of lobbying. "The government will not yield to such pressures. There are a few factors we have to take into consideration. The farmers' future needs to be thought about, a legal opinion has to be taken as a case is pending in the Supreme Court," he said.

Several associations have come forward, demanding the law be passed. The activists point out that most farmers grow FCV tobacco, which is largely used for exports and in manufacturing cigarettes. "The number of illegal and unlicensed tobacco growers is also steadily increasing over the years. These farmers themselves suffer from several illnesses related to tobacco," the Indian Dental Association said in a letter to the government, pushing for the law.

It is estimated that around 1,57,000 people suffer from cancer in Karnataka every year.

BAN IN PLACE

Other states that have banned flavoured tobacco:

Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Bihar, Mizoram, West Bengal, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Manipur

POPULAR AMONG POOR

On the behalf of the state's public health professionals, we would like to reiterate that the prevalence of chewing tobacco across the state is disproportionately higher among economically poorer sections of society and women. Chewing tobacco and the related illnesses are a huge health burden, particularly among the poor who often don't have the ability to meet healthcare costs.... This (deferring the matter) is a serious setback for our state, which could have taken this decision to protect the health of Kannadigas from this preventable cause of death.