Mangalore, Mar 14: A workshop for police officers on effective implementation of the Cigarette and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA) was held in Mangalore on Thursday.
Briefing about the important sections in the Act, Dr. Riaz Pasha, Associate Professor, Bangalore Medical College, and Member, State Anti Tobacco Cell, said that although officials of other departments have also been given powers by policy makers to take action against COTPA violations, it is only the police personnel who can effectively tackle the violators as people tend to fear men in uniform.
No smoking in public
Among the important sections in the Act is Section 4, according to which, smoking in public places is prohibited. Violation of this section can attract an on the spot penalty of Rs. 200, Dr. Pasha said. The fines are to be deposited in a dedicated account for the purpose so that the number of violations is systematically tracked, he said.
Smoking in Ads
As per Section 5 of the Act, prohibition has been imposed on direct and indirect advertisement, promotion and sponsorship of cigarette and tobacco products. Violation in this regard can cause imprisonment upto 2 years or attract a fine of Rs. 1000 or both in first instance. If the offence is repeated for second time, the imprisonment can extend up to 5 years and the fine will also shoot up to Rs. 5000, he said.
Sale of Tobacco to minors
Section 6 deals with prohibition of sale of tobacco products to children below 18 years of age and prohibition of sale of tobacco products within a radius of 100 metres from schools and educational institutions. Police can raid such shops and confiscate the tobacco products if there is violation in this regard besides taking action against shops that sell tobacco products without obtaining trade license from the municipal corporation. Shops are required to have a board stating that tobacco cannot be consumed by children under the age of 18. Shop owners are to be fined Rs. 200 if found violating this section, Dr. Pasha said.
Warning
Tobacco products are to have warnings written in English and the local language of the region, besides a pictorial representation of harmful effects of tobacco as per Section 7, the violation of which can result in 2 year imprisonment of the producer/manufacturer of the product or attract a fine of Rs.5000, Dr. Pasha said.
Dr. Vishal Rao, the other resource person of the programme, said that the common man apart, many police officers themselves resort to smoking and consumption of tobacco products. It is true that police personnel work under stress but they have to ensure that they do not fall prey to such habits as treatment of cancer caused by them is extremely difficult and ailments caused by cigarette and tobacco are not covered by health insurance schemes as well, Dr. Rao said.
Pratap Reddy, IGP, Western Range, sharing his thoughts, said that police department in the region has been aware of the dangers of tobacco related crimes. In 2013 alone, 2303 cases were registered under COTPA Act in the Western Range region. About 90% of these cases are regarding prohibition of sale of tobacco around educational institutions, he said.
Ashit Mohan Prasad, ADGP (Crime and Technical Services), Karnataka, Manish Kharbikar, Mangalore Police Commissioner, Abhishek Goyal, SP, DK, were among the officers who participated in the workshop.
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