Reining in smokers

Tobacco addiction poses a grave health risk. According to the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (2016-17), 28.6 per cent of India’s adult population takes it in one form or the other, while around 49 per cent of the smokers have been advised by healthcare professionals to kick the habit. In recent years, the use of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS) or e-cigarettes as a ‘fashionable’ alternative to conventional smoking has caught on. The World Health Organisation has identified ENDS as a ‘serious public health concern’. States such as Punjab, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar outlawed e-cigarettes earlier this decade. The Centre has done it now, taking the ordinance route. The government is also working on amendments to the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA)-2003 to make its provisions more stringent, including raising the legal age for tobacco consumption from 18 years to 21.

The ban on e-cigarettes in India has come at a time when the US is grappling with an outbreak of pulmonary illnesses linked to vaping. Over 500 confirmed/probable cases and eight deaths have been reported so far, prompting President Donald Trump to announce curbs to tackle the menace. Learning from the US experience, the Indian Government should hold its ground amid opposition from trade bodies and vapers. The latter’s argument that e-cigarettes help people quit smoking traditional tobacco products does not hold water as one kind of addiction gets replaced by another.

The 2003 Act prohibits the sale of cigarettes and other tobacco items within a radius of 100 yards of any educational institution. Over the years, this provision has been effective to an extent in restricting youngsters’ access to the harmful stuff. The move to increase the minimum age for tobacco use will further help to bring down demand as well as supply among teenagers. Hiking five-fold the fine for smoking in public places can act as a deterrent too, provided there is strict enforcement of the law. The 2017 National Health Policy’s goal of reducing tobacco use by 15 per cent by 2020 might be a tall order, but earnest efforts can ensure significant gains in this direction.