Irfan Tramboo
Srinagar, Nov 13: Despite being in vogue in various states of the country, Tobacco vendor licencing, which holds the key in the effective implementation of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA)-2003, remains elusive for J&K.
While the authorities are working to implement the other provisions of the COTPA, hardly any attention has been paid to implementing the vendor licensing, let alone setting in motion a process to ensure that only the vendors with proper licences get to sell the tobacco products.
The experts in the field-who are actively working with the Government on the aspects of awareness and preventive measures-said that such licensing includes a range of policies as well as regulations.
These regulations, they said, aim to decrease the number of tobacco retailers in a certain city and can also help enforce other tobacco control interventions.
“Its introduction, which has not been done in J&K so far, would also provide an opportunity for policymakers to strengthen other tobacco control policies by adding rules addressing the age of purchase, point-of-sale advertising, e-cigarette sales, and other strategies,” they said.
As per the official figures, J&K falls on number 6 across the country when it comes to the consumption of tobacco in the form of cigarette smoking, with Kashmir Valley recording the highest prevalence.
This prevalence, officials said, makes it imperative to have other interventions-such as Tobacco Vendor Licencing-implemented without any further delay as a control measure.
The officials also noted the importance of the Tobacco Vendor Licencing initiative, stating that its implementation will go a long way in controlling tobacco consumption and will also leave an effect on the rampant sale of tobacco products.
They went on to state that through the licensing, the location restrictions for the sale of tobacco products can be imposed by mandating that vendors be at a certain distance from schools or other youth-oriented locations, as well as residential zones.
Nodal Officer, DHSK’s Tobacco Cell, Dr Mir Mushtaq told Excelsior that they have been asked by the Health & Medical Education (H&ME) Department to work out the modalities for the implementation of the vendor licensing in Kashmir which will then also be implemented in Jammu division for the effective implementation of the tobacco control measures.
“For the control of tobacco use and as a preventive measure, we are working on it as per the directives; the process involves the coordination from Municipalities as well because they will be the key players in the licensing be it Kashmir or in Jammu; we will have it soon,” he said.
Follow our WhatsApp channel
