Vendor licensing needed to prevent children from tobacco addiction

Bengaluru: On the occasion ofthe World Health Day, public health and child rights advocates urged the government of Karnataka to introduce vendor licensing to prevent children from tobacco addiction and secure their future by building 'Tobacco Free Generation'.

Pointing out that Karnataka was the first State in India to initiate the process of introducing vendor licensing in 2013 for the sale of tobacco products, representatives from the Consortium for Tobacco Free Karnataka, Indian Medical Association-Karnataka and Associated Management of Private Schools in Karnataka, said it has not become a reality yet. In the absence of vendor licensing children are falling prey to the cheap marketing tactics of the tobacco companies and are getting hooked to tobacco products.

Those vendors who wish to sell tobacco products like cigarettes, bidis and chewing tobacco should obtain a 'special license', from their respective Urban Local Bodies. This will help the ULBs to check violations by the tobacco vendor which is a common phenomenon on one hand and on the other hand it will help the ULBs to augment their revenue by charging nominally to issue licenses.

"The draft notification was issued by the government on 8th December 2020 inviting objections or suggestions within 30 days from the public. Thousands of letters were received by the government in favour and against the notification. After careful consideration of all these letters, the government weighed the importance of vendor licensing and how this will protect the children and youths from becoming addicted to tobacco. However, more than a year has passed and the government is yet to come out with the final notification," said Dr Ramesh Bilimagga, renowned oncologist and President of Consortium for Tobacco Free Karnataka.

"Karnataka government should immediately pass vendor licensing and make a way for building a Tobacco Free Generation, where children below the age of 18 years will not be able to access tobacco products. When they attain the legal age, they would have developed rational thinking to avoid things that are not good for their health," Dr Ramesh explained.

Petty shops, pan kiosks, retail stores, bakeries, tea shops, milk booths, and provision stores are selling tobacco products like cigarettes, bidis and chewing tobacco to minors despite the regulatory mechanism under COTPA. Tobacco industry is illegally advertising its products with illuminated advertisement boards and posters at the point of sale (POS). At the POS, tobacco products are strategically placed next to common eatables that children are fond of such as biscuits, candies, chips, snacks etc. This is a strategy used by tobacco companies to lure children. More than 14.6 per cent of youth (13-15 years of age) use some form of tobacco in India as per Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS).

While the sale of liquor is regulated through a license from the State Excise Department, tobacco which is considered more lethal than alcohol is sold without any restriction. It should be noted that the Union Health Ministry in its advisory to the States (D O No. P – 16012 /14 /2017 –TC dated 21 September 2017) had asked all the States to regulate the sale of tobacco products through proper authorization and registration of tobacco vendors.

The Indian Medical Association-Karnataka, Secretary, Dr Prasad S M said "Children are the main target of the tobacco industry. They resort to cheap tactics like celebrity endorsements, attractive display of tobacco products in shops, displaying tobacco products visible to children and near the shops selling toys, sweets, soda and electronic gadgets. Due to the addictive nature (with nicotine among 7000 poisonous substances that tobacco contains) children fail to give up the habit even if they wish to. We see many tobacco addicts who initiated to tobacco use during their teenage years and are succumbing to many health problems associated with tobacco use. Indian Medical Association urges the Karnataka government to pass vendor licensing at the earliest."

The Associated Management of Private Schools in Karnataka (KAMS), General Secretary, Shashi Kumar said, "Strict action must be taken against vendors who are selling 'loose' cigarettes and bidis to children. However, in the present setup, vendors (especially around education institutions) are breaking the rules and are getting away with petty fines. If the sale of tobacco could be streamlined through vendor licensing, vendors for the fear of losing the license will strictly adhere to the law."

Already, states like Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and West Bengal have set a role model by implementing vendor licensing.