Hyderabad: NLS for licence system for tobacco traders, retailers

Himayath Nagar: A report released by the National Law School of India University, recommended that all the retailers and wholesalers should have a licence to sell tobacco products and have a provision for renewing the license annually.

The report titled 'Framework for Implementation of Tobacco Vendor Licensing in India' was released on Friday. These licences should be displayed prominently at all premises engaged in the sale of tobacco and products. According to the report, the adoption of licensing of vendors selling cigarettes, beedis and chewing tobacco products, would also facilitate effective enforcement of tobacco control law.

The report released by the Chair on Consumer Law and Practice, National Law School of India University (NLSIU), analysed the concept of vendor licensing to regulate the manufacture, sale and use of tobacco products in India. It examined the practice and procedure on vendor licensing adopted by various states and cities in India.

India has the second-largest number of tobacco users (268 million or 28.6 per cent of all adults in India) in the world. At least 1.2 million die every year from tobacco-related diseases. One million deaths are due to smoking, and over 2 lakh due to second-hand smoke exposure, and over 35,000 are due to smokeless tobacco use. Nearly 27 per cent of all cancers in India are due to tobacco usage. The total direct and indirect cost of diseases attributable to tobacco use was a staggering Rs 1.82, lakh Crore which is nearly 1.8 per cent of India's GDP.

The harmful effects of tobacco use are well established and accepted globally. Through this Report, NLSIU, has recommended a model legal framework for the sale of tobacco products through licensed vendors based on the existing law and global best practices. "We hope that state and municipal governments will consider these recommendations to safeguard Indians especially children and youth from these killer products", said Ashok R Patil, Professor of Law/Research Head, NLSIU, the Chair on Consumer Law and Practice, Bengaluru.

"It is imperative to make tobacco products inaccessible to youth and children to save them from a lifetime of misery and suffering. Regulating the sale, marketing, and use of these addictive products is critical to check the tobacco epidemic in India, especially during these challenging times. Sale of tobacco products through authorized, licensed shops/ vendors will promote health and fulfil a core government function of advancing public health, safety, and wellbeing for people of Uttar Pradesh," said K Sreekanth, Senior Consultant Surgical Oncologist, Yashoda Hospitals.

The advisory by ministry of Health and family welfare observes that it would be appropriate to include in the authorization a condition/provision that the shops permitted to sell tobacco products cannot sell non-tobacco products such as toffees, candies, chips, biscuits, soft drinks, among others, which are meant for the non-user – particularly children.