Ban on sale of tobacco products in Kohima
Our Correspondent
Kohima | May 30
On the occasion of World No Tobacco Day on May 31, Kohima Deputy Commissioner & DLCC Chairman, Rovilatuo Mor, has notified that there will be a total ban on sale of tobacco products in Kohima for the day.
In this connection, the Kohima DC requested all shopkeepers selling tobacco products to abide by the order and warned that defaulters will be fined as per the law.
Earlier, the Kohima DC has notified that various sections of COTPA 2003 will be implemented in Kohima district with immediate effect. They include Section 4- Prohibition of smoking in public places; Section 5- (a) Prohibition of advertisement of Cigarettes or other Tobacco products to a person below the age of 18 years, (b) Prohibition on sale of tobacco products in an area within a radius of 100 yards of an educational institution; and Section 7- Restriction on Trade and Commerce in production, supply and distribution of cigarettes and other tobacco products. He notified shopkeepers to strictly abide and follow section 6 of COTPA 2003 cited above, warning defaulters will be fined and penalized.
Mor also notified to all the Head of Department (HODs ) and all the concerned hotels/restaurant owners and managers to effectively implement Section 4 of COTPA 2003 – ‘Prohibition of smoking in public places’ by putting up sign boards prohibiting smoking in their respective Departments and in public places.
The DC requested all the HODs and owners/managers of hotels and restaurant to abide and follow the instructions with immediate effect.
It is also notified to all the concerned colony chairmen to send either a Gaon Bura or a Panchayat member as a member for the Tobacco Control Committee of Tobacco Free Schools in their respective colonies.
Meanwhile, the Directorate of Health & Family Welfare is organizing a function in commemoration of “World No Tobacco Day” on May 31 at Capital Convention Centre, Kohima at 2:00 PM.
Plain packaging a way out to curb tobacco epidemic: WHO
New Delhi, May 30 (IANS): In a bid to help cut down the perils associated with tobacco, the World Health Organisation (WHO) on Monday urged the various stakeholders to make plain packaging of tobacco products mandatory across the world. In plain packaging, the tobacco product package will have no branding or promotional information. Rather, it will sport graphic health warnings, dull colour combinations, a brand name and a product and/or manufacturer’s name in standardised font. “With a decline in smoking levels among the high-income countries, tobacco companies are increasingly relying on developing economies, especially in the south-east Asia region -- with nearly 246 million people in its 11 countries continuing to smoke tobacco and nearly 290 million using it in smokeless forms -- to bolster its market presence,” said Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, WHO regional director for Southeast Asia, in a statement.
