Rs 26,000 collected in fines from tobacco sellers around schools……Somita Pal
Within two weeks of starting a drive against vendors selling tobacco and related products around schools and colleges in the city, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) department has collected Rs26,000 in fines. The department did not have the exact number of vendors fined.
AV Giri, joint commissioner (Greater Mumbai), FDA said, Concerned about the easy availability of gutkha products around educational institutes, we had started a drive around two weeks back. We have penalised vendors selling or keeping tobacco and tobacco products within 200 metres of the school premises. Each vendor was slapped with a fine of Rs200.
The Maharashtra government, too, has decided to take strict measures to prevent the sale of tobacco around schools and colleges. In January, it will launch a special campaign on campuses to make students aware of the hazards of tobacco products. It has authorised principals and heads of institutions to fine vendors selling gutkha and cigarettes within 100 metres of the institutes premises.
While the state governments campaign will be for eight days, the FDA plans to have regular follow-ups. This is an initiative of our anti-tobacco cell committee and will be a continuous process, added Giri.
However, activists do not expect much to come of the efforts. Varsha Vidya Vilas, general secretary of the Nasha Bandi Mandal, said: The Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (Cotpa) came into effect in 2003, banning the sale of tobacco products within 100 metres of schools and colleges. We surveyed over 1,300 schools in the city in 2008. We found that tobacco vendors were right outside the school gates. We also found over 1.5 lakh school students consuming pan masala and tobacco. Principals and teachers were not even aware of the Act.
The mandal has decided to write to the minister of state for home Satej Patil, asking the government to first create awareness among principals and teachers before flagging off the campaign.