WILL BAN ON SALE OF LOOSE CIGARETTES WORK IN MUMBAI?
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The goverment wants to
impose a ban on the sale of unpackaged cigarettes to discourage smoking
In what is being looked at
as a crackdown on tobacco consump tion, the Indian government has
accepted the proposal to prohibit the sale of loose or single stick of
cigarette and also increase the minimum legal age for sale of tobacco
products, as per reports. The proposal, mooted by an expert committee
set up by the Health Ministry , also recommended increasing the fine
amount for violations of provisions of the Cigarettes and other Tobacco
Products Act, 2003, as well as making such offences cognizable. However,
the proposal is yet to be sent to the cabinet for approval as the
Health Ministry is still awaiting comments from other ministries. But
this has evoked mixed reactions ...
WON'T REALLY DISSUADE PEOPLE FROM SMOKING
Not being able to buy a single cigarette will be inconvenient, but it won't stop people from lighting up, feels 17-yearold Mithibai college student, Fahad Gandhi. “I do buy a cigarette or two now and then, but now, I'll have to get together with four pals to buy a whole box. While we may end up spending less, it's also going to be very inconvenient, as you're not always in a group of people.“ While Nilima Sharma (22), a city-based entrepreneur wonders if people will have to show an ID proof now to buy cigarettes, she also feels the new move might curb youngsters from the habit, even it is in a small way . If they can't buy a single cigarette, it will stop them, even if it means for a brief period,“ she states.
The move is also raising questions amongst city paan stalls and cigarette vendors who express a doubt about the successful implementation of the proposal.
`HOW CAN WE TELL WHO IS 25?'
It would be difficult to find out a per son's age, feels Rahul Omprakash Chaurasia, of Yash Prakash Paanwala at Baulnath. “How can one decipher the age of the person asking for them? It's not like we can ask for his or her driver's license,“ he reasons. “On the whole though it may be a good thing as very often students don't pay for a single cigarette, they just slip away . But otherwise, if the whole `loose cigarettes ban' proposal goes through, it is sure to affect our business.“
Tripathi Naik of Naik Pan Bidi shop at Borivali also feels that sales will definitely drop at his stall.“Almost 75% of our sales comes from these single cigarettes rather than packets.“ Hiking the fine amount from `200 to `20,000 will also cause trouble, he feels. “It's almost impossible to expect people to cough up so much, in fact I think people may react aggressively if asked to pay such a big amount,“ he adds.
DOCTOR SPEAK
Early exposure leads to complications later on
Says Dr Samir Dalwai, public health activist and Chairperson of Childhood Disability Group, Indian Academy of Pediatrics, “I strongly condemn exposure to tobacco at an early age. Before we consider practical and social fallouts of this proposed ban let's see what science says. Studies have unequivocally shown that earlier exposure to addictive substances leads to twice the chance of addiction and the occurence of health-relat ed and social complications later in life. It is thus essential to delay exposure of kids to these substances.“
Single is as harmful as a pack
Says consulting respiratory physician Dr Sujeet Rajan, “Suffice it to say `one cigarette is too much and 20 is too little'! That's what I counsel all my smokers on. Even smok ing a single cigarette will ensure the addic tion continues. I'd rather the addict spend more money realising the consequences (for family -passive smoke, for them selves -their own physical and mental health and eco nomic health). If the patient has a desire to quit, there is only one thing I tell them -there is help. A single cigarette is as harmful as a pack, in fact, worse.“
Not being able to buy a single cigarette will be inconvenient, but it won't stop people from lighting up, feels 17-yearold Mithibai college student, Fahad Gandhi. “I do buy a cigarette or two now and then, but now, I'll have to get together with four pals to buy a whole box. While we may end up spending less, it's also going to be very inconvenient, as you're not always in a group of people.“ While Nilima Sharma (22), a city-based entrepreneur wonders if people will have to show an ID proof now to buy cigarettes, she also feels the new move might curb youngsters from the habit, even it is in a small way . If they can't buy a single cigarette, it will stop them, even if it means for a brief period,“ she states.
The move is also raising questions amongst city paan stalls and cigarette vendors who express a doubt about the successful implementation of the proposal.
`HOW CAN WE TELL WHO IS 25?'
It would be difficult to find out a per son's age, feels Rahul Omprakash Chaurasia, of Yash Prakash Paanwala at Baulnath. “How can one decipher the age of the person asking for them? It's not like we can ask for his or her driver's license,“ he reasons. “On the whole though it may be a good thing as very often students don't pay for a single cigarette, they just slip away . But otherwise, if the whole `loose cigarettes ban' proposal goes through, it is sure to affect our business.“
Tripathi Naik of Naik Pan Bidi shop at Borivali also feels that sales will definitely drop at his stall.“Almost 75% of our sales comes from these single cigarettes rather than packets.“ Hiking the fine amount from `200 to `20,000 will also cause trouble, he feels. “It's almost impossible to expect people to cough up so much, in fact I think people may react aggressively if asked to pay such a big amount,“ he adds.
DOCTOR SPEAK
Early exposure leads to complications later on
Says Dr Samir Dalwai, public health activist and Chairperson of Childhood Disability Group, Indian Academy of Pediatrics, “I strongly condemn exposure to tobacco at an early age. Before we consider practical and social fallouts of this proposed ban let's see what science says. Studies have unequivocally shown that earlier exposure to addictive substances leads to twice the chance of addiction and the occurence of health-relat ed and social complications later in life. It is thus essential to delay exposure of kids to these substances.“
Single is as harmful as a pack
Says consulting respiratory physician Dr Sujeet Rajan, “Suffice it to say `one cigarette is too much and 20 is too little'! That's what I counsel all my smokers on. Even smok ing a single cigarette will ensure the addic tion continues. I'd rather the addict spend more money realising the consequences (for family -passive smoke, for them selves -their own physical and mental health and eco nomic health). If the patient has a desire to quit, there is only one thing I tell them -there is help. A single cigarette is as harmful as a pack, in fact, worse.“
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