Cracking the whip

Bhubaneswar, June 26: The drive against the use and sale of tobacco is set to be intensified with the state government deciding to empower assistant sub-inspectors of police to seize tobacco products.

Till now, police officers above the rank of sub-inspectors, drug inspectors and food safety officials had the powers to take action.

At a meeting, presided by chief secretary Jugal Kishore Mohapatra yesterday, it was also decided that the government employees would henceforth have to give a declaration to make their offices smoke-free and free of pan stains.

Bhubaneswar is supposed to a smoke-free city. Under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (prevention) Act, 2003, (COPTA), a person could be fined up to Rs 500. Use and sale of ghutka is banned too. But, these products continue to be sold despite crackdowns by the authorities.

At the meeting, the government indicated that a separate law to ban smoking and spitting would be made.

The proposed law will designate officials to take action at district, municipal corporations, municipalities, notified area councils, blocks and village levels.

The chief secretary advised officials concerned to adopt effective and smart information education and communication (IEC) materials so that more and more people get to know the ill effects of tobacco.

He also asked for strict implementation of the anti-tobacco measures near educational institutions and issue of sanitary certificates to schools so that they are encouraged to implement the provisions on their campus.

The Centre has already directed manufacturers to print harsh pictorial warnings on the tobacco products to make people aware of the bad effects of their products on human health.

Bhubaneswar was declared a no-tobacco city in October, 2010. Since then, Rs 35.24 lakh has been collected as fine for violating the COPTA Act from within the twin city police commissionerate area. The number of COPTA offenders till March 2014 was 34,600.

The Telegraph had carried out a sustained campaign on this issue.

The Orissa High Court had, in 2011, had asked the managing director of Odisha State Cooperative Milk Producers Federation Limited (Omfed) to ensure a complete ban on the sale of gutkha, cigarette and other tobacco products.

The court’s order came in the wake of an application pertaining to public interest litigation by Md Imran Ali of Nasha Mukti Yuva Sangathan alleging that instead of selling milk products, the Omfed booths had become major hubs for tobacco products based on The Telegraph report ‘Minor issue for officials – Omfed kiosks in capital sell tobacco products, employ children’ on November 30, 2010.

Local resident Bijay Mishra said: “All said and done, the police officials will have to be more vigilant on detecting the illegal sale of tobacco products near milk booths, tea stalls and educational institutions.”