11 held under Cotpa for selling foreign cigarettes in Noida

Noida: In a joint operation by Gautam Budh Nagar police and district tobacco control committee, 11 suspects — six under Sector 20 police station area and five under Sector 58 police station were arrested on Wednesday evening

Noida: In a joint operation by Gautam Budh Nagar police and district tobacco control committee, 11 suspects — six under Sector 20 police station area and five under Sector 58 police station were arrested on Wednesday evening.

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According to Rajesh S, deputy commissioner of police (Noida), a search operation was conducted at the Sector 18 market and areas around Sectors 57-61 in Noida on Wednesday evening.

“During the operation, cigarette packets of foreign brands were recovered from shops which did not comply with the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (Cotpa). Six such shops were found in Sector 18 while five shops were found in Sector 57-61 area. The sellers of such cigarette packets were taken into custody and a case was registered against them under provisions of Cotpa,” the DSP said.

Dr Shweta Khurana, consultant, district tobacco control cell informed that in accordance with Cotpa, all tobacco products offered for sale should bear health warnings in the form of designated pictures and this should cover 85% of the packaging. “During the joint operation, we found that the vendors were selling cigarettes that did not have any such warning on the packaging. Hence, they were booked under Sections 7 and 20 of Cotpa, which deals with such violations,” she said.

Earlier, Dr Devendra Sharma, chairman of the Uttar Pradesh State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, directed the district tobacco control committee to publicise the state government’s drug-free campaign called ‘Ek Yuddh Nashe Ke Viruddh’ (war against addiction).

“The chairman has directed the district tobacco control committee to put up posters and wall paintings outside educational institutes across Gautam Budh Nagar, discouraging students from indulging in substance abuse. The department has also been directed to carry out inspections near educational institutes and ensure no cigarette shops are located within 100 yards of such institutes,” said Dr Khurana.

Meanwhile, district probationary officer Atul Soni informed that Dr Sharma carried out an inspection at a tobacco factory at Sector 3 in Noida on Wednesday. “During the inspection, the officials found five minor workers. However, their age verification could not be done. These five workers have been instructed to furnish documents verifying their age. If the workers are found to be minors, stringent action will be taken against the factory owner,” he said.

Soni added that during a review meeting, Dr Sharma passed directives to ensure inspections are carried out across tobacco manufacturing firms to check whether child labourers are being engaged.