NATIONAL SENSITIZATION WORKSHOP for Law Enforcement Officials for Effective Enforcement of India Tobacco Control Act GOA SUCCESS STORIES

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NATIONAL SENSITIZATION WORKSHOP for Law
Enforcement Officials for EffectiveEnforcement
of India Tobacco Control ActGOA SUCCESS STORIES

• Salim A . Veljee
• Deputy Director
• Food Drugs Admn.,
• Goa.

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Tobacco Ill-effects

• Consumption of tobacco containing food articles
  namely Gutka, Khaini, Pan Masala, by whatever
  name called, etc can lead to a dreadful disease
  known as Oral Sub Mucous Fibrosis (OSF), which is
  a pre-cancerous condition linked with the use of
  smokeless tobacco products.

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Tobacco Ill-Effects

• There is an exhaustive scientific data available
  to show the ill-effects of tobacco food products,
  causing severe health hazards to public,
  particularly younger generation falling prey to
  the dreaded tobacco containing products, due to
  the aggressive marketing strategies adopted by
  the manufacturers of such products.

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Constitution of India Article 47

• Article 47 of the Constitution of India casts a
  duty on the State to raise the level of the
  nutrition and the standards of living and to
  improve the public health and this is one of the
  primary duties of the State.
• Based on this responsibility, the State has
  endeavored in taking a policy decision to protect
  its citizens from this dreaded social disease,
  which is increasingly attacking the fabric of the
  public health.

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Government Policy

• The Government of Goa , in the back drop of all
  this, felt the need to implement certain
  prohibitions and restriction on the manufacture
  for sale, sell and distribution of such tobacco
  containing food products so as to save its young
  generation and other persons falling prey to the
  addiction of these harmful injurious products
  containing tobacco.

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Governments Bold Initiatives

• The Government of Goa during the last five years
  have taken bold initiatives and measures to
  combat the control of the menace of the
  ill-effects of consumption of tobacco and tobacco
  related products.

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Prohibition under PFA Act 1954

• Government of Goa taking lead from the other
  States like Maharashtra took the initiative to
  prohibit the manufacture for sale, sell and
  distribution of food articles containing tobacco
  or tobacco extracts, by whatever name called, in
  the entire State of Goa, under the provisions of
  the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954,
  where the State (Food) Authority , with effect
  from 26th January 2003 notified the ban on such
  products for an indefinite period, until further
  orders.
• The Directorate of Food Drugs Administration
  was solely entrusted the responsibility to
  enforce and implement the said ban in the State.

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Prohibition under PFA Act 1954

• The Directorate with its limited force of 6 Food
  Inspectors commenced the enforcement of this ban
  and booked a total of 64 cases and seized
  prohibited articles worth Rs. 14,21,621/-.
• This ban was enforced from 26.01.2003 till
  02.08.2004 and during this period, Writ Petition
  were filed first in the High Court of Mumbai at
  Goa Bench, which the State successfully defended
  the validity of the Government ban order. Later
  being aggrieved, the manufacturers approached
  Supreme Court and challenged the orders issued
  by Goa, Maharashtra, AP, TN, Pondicherry,

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Prohibition under PFA Act 1954

• However the State received a set-back when
  Honble Supreme Court on 02.08.2004 struck down
  the prohibition notification issued under the PFA
  Act, 1854 purely on technical grounds, wherein
  the Apex Court held that the State Government
  through its Food (Health) Authority had no powers
  to impose a ban or prohibition for an
  indefinitely period of time, under Section 7 of
  the PFA Act 1954 and likewise the notification of
  other States were also quashed.

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States Perseverance

• The State of Goa, being a progressive State with
  its small population of around 15 lacs and
  excelling in all the health indicators and
  literacy rate in comparison to other leading
  States of Union of India was determined to
  protect its citizen from this dreaded ill-effects
  of tobacco consumption to ensure overall good
  health in the State.
• Enacted a special legislation to tackle the
  menace of tobacco consumption in this State,
  under the existing law of Goa Public Health Act
  1985

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GOA PUBLIC HEALTH (Amendment) Act, 2005

• Consequent to the Supreme Court quashing the
  earlier ban under PFA Act, 1954, the Government
  after lengthy deliberation and discussion
  promulgated the Goa Public Health Ordinance 2004
  prohibiting the manufacture for sale, sell and
  distribution of injurious food articles
  containing tobacco and later with the approval of
  the Legislative Assembly enacted the GOA PUBLIC
  HEALTH (Amendment) Act 2005, which was
  implemented and enforced w. e .f 2nd October
  2005, in the entire State of Goa.

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GOA PUBLIC HEALTH (Amendment) Act, 2005

• The salient features of this new legislation
  entrusted the task and responsibility of
  enforcement of this legislation to other
  agencies like the Police, Health Services,
  Collect- -orate staff along with the officials of
  the Directorate of Food Drugs Administration
  and offences relating to consumption of such
  injurious food articles within 50 metres of
  educational institutions, religious places,
  public places, Government buildings, sports
  complexes, etc, was an offence under this law and
  thus today, Goa is the only State in the Country,
  which has a special law solely to impose ban on
  tobacco containing food articles

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GOA PUBLIC HEALTH (Amendment) Act, 2005

• Since October 2005, under the Goa Public Health
  (Amendment) Act, 2005, the Directorate of Food
  Drugs Administration during the last 18 months
  has booked additional 34 cases and seized Gutka
  and other tobacco food articles worth Rs.
  26,02,751/-.
• The Directorate had to face two Writ petitions
  before the High Court of Bombay at Goa Bench,
  challenging the validity of the said legislation
  and Directorate successfully defended the same.

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GOA PUBLIC HEALTH (Amendment) Act, 2005

• In January 2007, as the High Court did not grant
  any relief's, the manufacturers approached the
  Supreme Court challenging the validity of the
  said legislation and filed a Special Leave
  Petition (Civil) in the wake of the centrally
  enacted laws relating to tobacco control and the
  said petitions in August 2007, although it has
  been admitted, but no relief's have been granted,
  and the matter is yet to come up for further
  hearing.

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Tobacco Control Laws implemented the State of Goa

• Today, the State of Goa is engaged in the
  enforcement and implementation of the following
  tobacco control laws
• Goa Prohibition of Smoking Spitting Act 1997
• Goa Public health (Amendment) Act, 2005
• Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products
  (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of
  Trade Commerce, Production, Supply
  Distribution), Act 2003

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GOA PROHIBITION OF SMOKING SPITTING ACT, 1997

• An Act imposing ban on smoking and spitting in
  the public places as well as in the public
  services, vehicles, thereby ensuring that the
  States environment is maintained hygienic and
  clean
• The said Act is enforced and implemented by the
  Collectorates staff and the Police Department

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Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products
(Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of
Trade Commerce, Production, Supply
Distribution), Act 2003

• This Act envisages that appropriate checks are
  conducted to ensure that no advertisements of
  tobacco related products takes place within the
  State and that also sign boards of NO SMOKING
  are displayed in the public places.
• It also envisages the restriction on the sale of
  tobacco related articles to minors below the age
  of 18 years
• Labeling all tobacco related articles products
  with appropriate warnings on all its wrapper,
  labels, containers, etc.

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Recent Amendment to the PFA Act, 1954.

• Recently the Government of India under
  notification No. GSR No. 491(E) dated 21.08.2006
  under amendment to the provisions of the
  Prevention of Food Adulteration Rules 1955 has
  incorporated a rule, which reads as
• Rule 44-J Product not to contain any substance
  which may be injurious to health Tobacco and
  nicotine shall not be used as ingredients in any
  food products.
• The above amendment has already taken effect from
  20th August 2007

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Our Endeavors Fight the Evil

• Today, the State has undertaken all efforts
  within its available restricted resources to
  combat the growing menace of tobacco ill-effects.
• But such gigantic mammoth tasks of protecting the
  health of the public, especially the youths
  generation solely cannot lie by enacting
  legislation and enforcing these legislation. The
  NGOs and other stakeholders involved in this
  drive also need to aggressive tackle in thee same
  line with which such harmful injurious products
  are promoted so that we can save the future.

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Our Endeavour Fight the Evil

• Today, Goa is the only State in country to have
  such a ban on such harmful injurious tobacco
  containing products. However with porous State
  borders, where at the neighboring States such
  products are freely available, makes the task of
  the enforcing agencies stiff and challenging.
• Today, the freely display and availability is
  definitely reduced and declined , but possible
  isolation sale under concealed environment cannot
  be ruled out, as such a ban has now promoted a
  premium on such products to habitual consumers.

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Our Endeavour Fight the Evil

• Today, we need to create a larger awareness drive
  for educating the school college children,
  parents, teachers, and every citizens may be
  through role play on the streets, films,
  handouts, competitions,. etc, by whatever
  strategy, we can to make the general masses aware
  of this social evil.
• All the stakeholders today, collectively need to
  come forward and wage a civil war for this social
  cause to generate and protect our future
  generation from falling prey to this habits.

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• THANK YOU