No Tobacco law goes up in smoke

KOCHI: The much-hyped ban on tobacco products within 400 metres of educational institutions seems to have reached a dead end altogether.Within a few months of its enforcement, the notification has raised so many concerns that it has now been sent to the Law Department.The notification was circulated to the local bodies in the state by the Department of Local Administration. As per the directions specified by the notification, the ban on tobacco products around educational institutions was to be increased from the existing 100-metre radius to 400-metre radius. Simple as this might sound, putting it into practice has proved to be an uphill task.Firstly, the so-called existing ban does not actually extend to 100-metres.As per the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2003, the radius specified is 100 yards and not 100 metres. This itself is a glaring example of the care with which the act was penned down.Secondly, banning tobacco products in the 400-metre radius of all educational institutions, in a state like Kerala where almost every street has a school or a college, is too impractical an idea.“If we are to ban tobacco sale in a radius of every half a kilometre of an educational institution, we might just as well close down all the shops. Especially because the notification does not clarify what exactly it means when it says ‘Educational Institution’, schools, colleges or coaching centres? Neither is there any clarity on the measurement of the 100-metre radius. While the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2003 specifies 100 metres from outer compound wall of the educational institution, this notification does not mention that,” says a senior official of the Narcotics Cell.Taking advantage of this lack of clarity, a slew of harassment cases have also been filed against the police by various tobacco shop owners. In fact, the police are now reluctant to take action on tobacco shops based on the notification, says the official.The Department of Local Self Governance has now passed the notification on to the Law Department, to sort out the issuesaid James Varghese, Principal Secretary, Department of Local Self Governance.