Davanagere has become the first City in Karnataka to implement Tobacco Vendor Licensing (TVL) for regulating the sale of tobacco products in commercial shops.
The Davanagere City Corporation has begun implementing the TVL in the city with the support of the Health and Family Welfare Department under the National Tobacco Control Programme (NTCP), following sustained pressure from the Indian Medical Association, and advocates of health and child rights activists. NTCP, Karnataka, is the nodal agency in implementing the project.
There are around 2000 shops selling cigarettes, beedi and other tobacco products in the city. Already licenses have been issued to 30 shops having trade licenses. Over 100 shop owners have submitted applications seeking licenses for selling products. The license fee is ₹500 and it is valid for five years. Licenses to petty shops would be issued in the second phase with the permission of the City Corporation authorities, officials told The Hindu.
The licensing system would curtail illicit trade, enhance revenue to the civic body and reduce easy access to tobacco products for children aged less than 18 years, said officials of the health department. Noting that “tobacco is the gateway to drugs”, healthcare providers and economists have urged the State government to ensure TVL compliance.
What rules say
Traders who have received licenses must strictly adhere to the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA), 2003, rules. As per the rules, shop owners should not display any advertisements for cigarettes or tobacco products. Rules ban the sale of tobacco products to persons below 18. The shop owners should display a minimum size board of 60 cm-30 cm containing the warning “No Smoking Area – Smoking Here is an Offence” in Kannada. The shops should not sell matchboxes and lighters or keep ashtrays which would encourage smoking in the area. The shop owners must maintain bills related to the purchase of tobacco products.
Already rules have been framed for banning sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products, within 100 yards of educational institutions.
Penalty for violation
The violation of licensing rules would invite penalty and already 44 cases have been booked and a penalty of ₹22,000 has been collected, said officials.
For enforcement of licensing, an Urban Tobacco Control Committee is headed by the Commissioner, City Corporation. NGOs such as Karuna Jeeva and Kalyan Trust too have been roped in for effective implementation of the project. Raghavan G.D, district surveillance officer, Satish Kalahal, district consultant, NTCP and Devaraj K P, social worker, NTCP, have been involved in training, campaign and implementation of the project.
“Many petty shop owners opposed the licensing system. They submitted a memorandum to the District In charge Minister and the MP too,” said a project authority official.
The Union Health Ministry in its advisory to the states in 2017 had asked all the states to regulate the sales of tobacco products through proper authorisation and registration of tobacco vendors. Already several states, including Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh, and Kerala, have imposed restrictions. Though Karnataka was the first to initiate the process of introducing vendor licensing a decade ago, it has not become a reality still across the State.
