In 2017, the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA) banned sale of loose cigarettes; however, many vendors and small tea shop owners in the city are unaware of the ban.
Despite the ban on sale of single cigarettes introduced a few years ago, many tea stall owners and vendors do not follow the rule as they are unaware of the ban. Ramesh, a tea vendor at Kempegowda bus station, said, “I have never been fined for selling loose cigarettes and I was not aware about the ban as well. I have been selling tea and coffee with cigarette, beedi and other tobacco chewing products in the night for over two years.”
Chithravathi, another small shop owner, at Goraguntepalya said that she is unaware of the ban. She added that if she stops selling loose cigarettes and beedis she will lose customers, as her major income is dependent on those sales.
The Karnataka government banned the sale of loose cigarettes in 2017. The COTPA enacted by the Parliament also made the sale of loose cigarettes a punishable offence.
According to the Department of Health and Family Welfare, sale of loose cigarettes, beedis and tobacco products violates Section 7 and its sub-section of COTPA. Section 7 prohibits the sale of tobacco products that do not have anti-tobacco health warning labeled on them. According to the act, violators of Section 7 are punishable up to Rs. 1,000 or one year imprisonment or both. A repeat offence carries a sentence of up to two years in imprisonment and a fine of up to Rs. 3,000.
Aryan, a college student said that he buys four to five cigarettes every day but is trying to limit smoking. “I used to smoke a box of cigarettes in a day, but then I started reducing the number of cigarettes to four a day.” he added.
Babu, a labourer, said that if he buys a whole box of cigarette, he would not be able to control himself from smoking the whole packet. He added that it gives him a ‘kick’ to work but it is distracting for him. “To avoid this and to focus on my work I take four cigarettes a day,” he said.
Sathya Chander, founder of the Consortium for Tobacco-Free Karnataka (CFTFK), said, “I have hardly seen the violators getting punished. Most cases that have been reported of loose cigarette sales are sold to minors.” The foundation organises various campaigns in schools to spread awareness to reduce the cases of minor smoking, he said.
Durugappa. S Machanoor, Divisional Co-ordinator at the State Anti-Tobacco Cell, Bangalore, said that public co-operation matters the most in prohibiting sale of loose cigarettes. The ban was imposed because the loose cigarettes were sold without the pictorial warning. This makes the smokers unaware of the effects of smoking.
He said that fines should be collected from the people who buy loose cigarettes and also from those who sell loose cigarettes. Monitoring and regulation of the rule should be tightened by imposing fine and punishment to reduce the number of cases.
According to a study by ResearchGate, in Bangalore, 23.9 percent of males and 20.6 percent of females in the age group of 15- 20 years are daily smokers due to peer pressure.
