Bhubaneswar, July 17: A Supreme Court directive in May made it mandatory for tobacco companies to display pictorial warnings covering 85 per cent of cigarette, chewing tobacco and gutkha packets. However, shops selling tobacco products here are yet to follow the norm.

Tobacco products are also being sold without any checks at Odisha State Co-operative Milk Producers' Federation (Omfed) kiosks across the city, which they have rented from the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation.

The state government had, in 2013, banned the manufacture, storage, sale and distribution of gutkha and pan masala containing tobacco or nicotine as ingredients under the Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restrictions on Sales) Regulations, 2011.

Pan shops in the state capital, however, have been openly flouting the directive.

According to the public health department's establishment officer K.M. Naik, a notification in this regard had already been issued. "It is an open secret that shops are selling chewable tobacco and gutkha," he said.

He also said the directive regarding statutory warnings about the ill-effects of smoking was being violated, adding that the state government had formed a task force to implement the law.

Marketing executive Sudhir Panda said the directive that necessitated displaying statutory warnings on shops selling tobacco products was being flouted. "Such shops display attractive advertisements of cigarette brands, which appeal to youngsters," he said.

Bhubaneswar mayor Anant Narayan Jena said the civic body would shortly set up a task force to monitor the sale of cigarettes and chewing tobacco in the city.

Asked about the Omfed booths that sold tobacco products, Jena said they would take action against them and revoke their licences. He said the civic body would seek permission from Omfed authorities to raid such kiosks.

Omfed marketing in-charge N.R. Khadanga said the civic body would be granted the permission. He added that Omfed kiosks were permitted to sell tea, biscuits, bread and snacks along with milk and milk products. "However, we have observed that such kiosks also sell tobacco and tobacco-based products, for which the milk co-operative has not granted permission."

Khadanga said Omfed conducted a drive recently to check the sale of tobacco products in kiosks and that the licences of several such kiosks had been revoked.

Social worker Md Imran Ali, who had filed a PIL along with Jitendra Kumar Sahu to ban smoking in public places and the sale of tobacco products, said the police and health department should do more to keep youngsters away from tobacco.

Ali said he had proposed a ban on the sale of cigarettes and chewing tobacco in Omfed booths. "Orissa High Court had taken cognisance of the menace and directed Omfed and the civic body to strictly enforce the ban," he said.

Deputy commissioner of police Satyabrata Bhoi said all inspectors in charge of police stations across the city had been instructed to enforce the ban on smoking in public places and ensure that shops selling tobacco products displayed statutory warnings. Bhoi said the police did not have plans to conduct drives to ensure this.