Seven years in jail, Rs 1 lakh fine for selling tobacco to minors

As a step towards protecting minors from getting into the habit of tobacco consumption, an amendment has been brought in to India’s Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015. According to Section 77 of the modified act, offering a child liquor, narcotics or tobacco products will be treated as a punishable offense that can entail rigorous imprisonment of up to seven years and a fine of up to Rs 1 lakh. The Act, which comes under the Ministry of Women and Child Development came into force on January 15, 2016. 

Talking about the implications of this change, S Cyril Alexander, State Convener of Tamil Nadu People’s Forum for Tobacco Control (TNPFTC), an NGO tells us, “Before this amendment was brought in, the Juvenile Justice Act did not have a provision for protection of minors from the use of tobacco. Law enforcement was fully reliant on the COTPA (Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act). During our research, we identified several minors who were employed as vendors for tobacco products. According to the new law, these children can be rehabilitated, while those who employed them can be booked under Section 77 of the modified Juvenile Justice Act. Such stringent actions, should act as a deterrent to players in the tobacco industry who pitch their products to minors.” 

As part of the NGO’s ongoing mission, a zonal survey of schools is being conducting in Chennai to check the prevalence of tobacco advertisements in the vicinity of these educational institutions. “Alexander explains, “Our team members are involved in a city-specific pilot project where they will map around 30 private and Corporation schools. Our aim is to find if compliance is being followed with respect to the ban on tobacco advertising within 100-yards of educational institutes.” 

Of course, positive changes are being brought about in a gradual way. The Punjab Government took heed of the NGO’s plea concerning a product named Cool Lip, which was being targeted at school children here in Chennai. The news concerning this product was reported by DT Next on Nov 27, 2015. “They have now prohibited the manufacturing, storage, sale and distribution of all food products containing tobacco in the whole state of Punjab for a period of one year. The Ministry now needs to create rules which can be effectively implemented and ensure that the objective of protecting children from the clutches of tobacco is not lost in the name of bureaucracy,” Alexander sums up. A copy of the Punjab Government Order is available with this newspaper.