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Toothless action by Pune police against gutkha, cigarette sales outside schools, colleges
Within a day or two of police action, the sale of cigarettes resumed at some of these kiosks
Within days of action by Pune Police, the sale of gutkha (chewing tobacco) and cigarettes resumed briskly in close proximity to schools and colleges.
On Monday, the Pune police took action against 173 kiosk owners or managers for selling tobacco products in the vicinity of educational institutes. Within a day or two of this action, the sale of cigarettes resumed at some of these kiosks.
Cigarettes could be found and bought in areas within close proximity of Vibgyor School in Magarpatta City area, Wadia College near Pune station and Ranade Institute on Fergusson College Road, among others.
When asked about the institutions which were on the police radar, Shirish Sardeshpande, deputy commissioner of police, crime, Pune said, “It was random selection. There was no pattern or list. I will not give out names of any institution. We can only take action against sellers located within 100 yard of the institutes.”
The sellers were fined a paltry Rs. 200 under section 24 of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohobition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 2003.
The Act prohibits sale of cigarettes and tobacco products within 100 yard (91.44 meter) of an educational institute.
The police stations involved in the action included Khadak, Faraskhana, Samarth, Vishrambaugm Shivajinagar, Deccan, Lashkar, Bundgarden, Koregaon Park, Swargate, Sahkarnagar, Bharti Vidyapeeth, Sinhagad road , Chaturshringi, Khadki, Kothrud, Warje Malwadi, Hadapsar, Kondhwa, Wanavadi, Yerawada, Chandan nagar, Vishrantwadi, and Vimantal police station.
If found selling cigarettes repeatedly, the police said they have warned the retailers of cancellation of license from the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC).
In a planned “all out” action, a team of policemen was formed to target sellers operating in areas under jurisdiction of 24 police stations in the city which are located within 100 yard of an educational institute like a school or a college, according to a statement issued by DCP Sardeshpande.
“We did not seize anything. But we checked which shop sells cigarettes and a case will be filed against them in court. They will then have to go to court and pay the (prescribed) fine,” said police inspector Sunil Dorge of Anti-Narcotics Department of Pune polcie crime branch.
The 173 people had to pay fine of Rs 200 each for selling cigarettes, toabacco, gutkha or other tobacco products near educational institutes.
Collectively, a fine of at least Rs 34,600 was imposed on a single day. In 2018, 315 such people had faced action, according to DCP Sardeshpande. However, for a city like Pune which is home to so many educational institutions, the number of cases is too low, he said.
“Henceforth as well, like this time, we will take surprise actions so that this action becomes more effective,” he said.
Poor implementation of law a major problem, says city doctor
In spite of the ban on sale of tobacco and tobacco-related products near educational institutions, the sale of these products are flourishing in the city. Unmindful of the action taken by the Pune police on 173 kiosk owners who were selling cigarettes, tobacco products, the sale has resumed within two days of the action taken. Dr Kalyan Gangwal, cardiologist and founder chairman of Sarva Jeev Mangal Pratisthan, a non-governmental organisation said that poor implementation of law and order is to be blamed for the current situation.
“We have written several letters to the authorities concerned but the response has been very poor. When A P J Abdul Kalam was the President of India, we had requested him to look into the matter after which government came up with the The Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2003 (COTPA) which restricts the sale of tobacco products within 100 yards radius from educational institutions. Now, no one is following the rule. Though gutkha products are banned in Maharashtra, the manufacturers have set up their plants at Gujarat and Karnataka borders and operate the illegal trade from there,” Gangwal said.
Gangwal said that schoolchildren were being targeted and given free samples of gutkha to schoolchildren thus to inculcate in them the habit of consuming gutkha.
“I have observed many school students suffering with Submucous Fibrosis. Consuming tobacco products will result in infertility. The gutkha manufacturers use Gambier which acts as slow poisoning,” he said.
Gangwal bats for strict implementation of existing laws, apart from insisting the government to ban sale of gutkha in small sachets.
“It is because these sachets are easily available for one or two rupees, school students find it to be affordable,” he said.
At least three cases per week at rehabilitation centre
Addiction starts from teenage, and the first to give way to addiction is ‘nicotine’, said Mukta Puntambekar, director of Muktangan rehabilitation centre.
“We see cases of children falling prey to addiction especially, smoking and chewing of gutkha but on outpatient department (OPD) basis and not in our inpatient department,” said Puntambekar. The law restricts the sellers to sell cigarettes and gutkha near the school and college campus areas but it is still being sold. This many a times prompt children to try out ‘new’ things, said Puntambekar.
“Every week the de-addiction centre sees three cases of children below 18 years of age who are brought for the treatment of their addiction towards smoking and tobacco,” she added.
“We do have adults with us who get admitted often to treat their addiction towards alcohol and while taking down the history of the patient, we observe that 99 per cent of the adult patients with us had started off their journey by consuming gutkha, tobacco or nicotine from an early age,” she added.
Addiction in adults starts right from childhood and hence it becomes important to spread awareness about the same among children and especially parents. It is important to create awareness of the after-effects of such products (tobacco, nicotine) and the health issues they cause in a person, said Puntambekar.
Meanwhile, to curb addiction in older age group, an early intervention like counselling plays an important role during childhood and hence parents need to be aware of the surroundings of their children’s school campus and the peer group they have, she added.
