Tobacco rules violated in Tamil Nadu: NGO

It seems the public service announcements concerning the health hazards of tobacco and smoking have fallen on deaf ears. A new video that has been going viral features a south Indian man forcing his child to smoke a cigarette in spite of the obvious discomfort of the child.

The video recently came to the attention of an NGO called the Tamil Nadu People’s Forum for Tobacco Control (TNPFTC) through a complaint registered on its app Tobacco Monitor. Studies conducted by this organisation reveal that there is a complete violation of rules, when it comes to sales of tobacco or tobacco-related products within 100 yards of a school or educational institution. S. Cyril Alexander, the State Convener of the TNPFTC says, “Four months ago, we came across a video that depicted a one-year-old child chewing tobacco. The video is live proof of tobacco violations In India. Our investigators undertook a study around seven schools in Chennai. There were about 70 violations including that of the sale of tobacco within 100 yards rule (Section 6 of Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act) around these schools. The definition of educational institutions is not limited to schools and colleges, but tuition centres, play schools and learning centres of all kinds.”

The app developed by Cyril’s team is being used by states around India. People from Punjab, Chandigarh, West Bengal, Kerala and Karnataka have already signed up as users and regularly report such violations. The NGO from their side, submits reports of these violations to the concerned government bodies of the state for further follow up. Cyril explains, “We need concentrated efforts from the Education Department and Public Health Departments and the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). All the rules are in place, but what we lack severely is enforcement.”

With regard to this video, Cyril will approach the Chennai’s police’s Cyber Crime wing and also the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR).

Analysis as on Nov 2015 about the number of tobacco control violations around schools in Chennai

Total Number of Violations- 70*

No. of complaints received in Tobacco Monitor- 281

States that have adopted Tobacco Monitor: Punjab | Chandigarh | West Bengal | Mizoram | Orissa | Kerala | Karnataka

The Tobacco Monitor app, developed by TNPFTC, can be used to report violations of tobacco rules by people around India. The android app was launched on World No Tobacco Day, May 31 2015. It’s been downloaded over 1,000 times. The developers send these complaints to state officials, who can in turn follow up on the enforcement.