To ban tobacco sales, Delhi govt seeks police help

To ban sale of chewed tobacco, Delhi government has sought help from police.
 
In a letter dated January 10, deputy commissioner of food safety department Jai Parkash asked police to implement the ban on such items in the region.
 
In a notification issued in April last year, Delhi government had banned manufacturing, storage, distribution, and sale of chewable tobacco products. However, the order could not implemented properly due to lack of personnel in the food safety department. Implementation of the order was interrupted several times as various firms approached Delhi high court against it. However, on September 23, Supreme Court upheld the ban.

 

Tobacco, in various forms, continues to be available in market. According to health experts, consumption of tobacco products, like gutkha, pan masala, flavoured or scented tobacco, causes thousands of deaths every year in the city. Gutkha is a sweetened mixture of chewing tobacco, betel nut, and palm nut, originating in India as a breath freshener.
 
According to Pankaj Chaturvedi, professor, surgical oncologist, Tata Memorial Hospital, there were three million tobacco users in Delhi and 40 per cent of them would meet untimely deaths. “Nearly 10,000 deaths every year are due to tobacco consumption in Delhi,” he said.
 

According to Heena Shaikh, project manager of Sambandh Health Foundation, over 80 children take to tobacco every day in Delhi.
 
The Delhi Police has been independently running a campaign to reduce the use of tobacco. Delhi Police is actively involved in implementing the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA) which, among other stipulations, bans smoking in public places. The Delhi Police has sensitised and trained police personnel in 6 districts and is in the process of training the balance 7 districts.
 
Meanwhile, NGO Fariyaad Foundation on Wednesday approached the Delhi High Court seeking its attention on the implementation of the tobacco ban order. It alleged that chewable tobacco products were still being sold by the manufacturers, but in separate pouches — one containing pan masala and the other tobacco — to circumvent the notification.

 
The NGO has also claimed that the authorities’ alleged inaction showed their "callousness" and sought directions to the Delhi government and its food safety department to "strictly implement" the ban. The court will hear the matter on February 9.