Tobacco Regulation and Smoking Ban

Submitted By:

Muktesh Swamy

Roll No: 94

B.A. LLB (HONOURS)

SUBMITTED TO:

Miss Shova Debi

(FACULTY: LEGAL METHODS)

HIDAYATULLAH NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY

RAIPUR, CHHATTISGARH

Date of submission:

23-09-2013

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 DECLARATION

I Muktesh Swamy, hereby declare that, the project work entitled, ‘Tobacco
regulation and Smoking Ban’ submitted to H.N.L.U., Raipur is record of an
original work done by me under the guidance of, Faculty Member, H.N.L.U.,
Raipur

Muktesh Swamy

Roll no 94

Semester I

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Declaration……………………………….………………………….4

Acknowledgement…………………………………………………..5

Objective, Research Methodology…………………………………6

Introduction………………………………………………………….7

Introduction of Tobacco in India…………………………………10

Tobacco Chewing in India…………………………………………11

Early Trade in Tobacco……………………………………………11

Prohibition and Ban on Use of Tobacco across the World……..12

Prohibitions in India…………………………………………….….13

Debates around Tobacco at the dawn of Independence…………13

Tobacco regulations in India………………………………………15

Smoking Ban in India………………………………………………18

Prevalence……………………………………………………………19

Conclusion……………………………………………………………20

Bibliography/Webliography………………………………………..22

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 Declaration

I, Muktesh Swamy, declare that the project titled “Tobacco regulation and Smoking Ban” is the
result of my own genuine efforts, research and knowledge and not of plagiarism.

I assure you that this project is the result of sincere efforts and no help whatsoever was taken in
terms of the contents of the project.

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I, Muktesh Swamy, feel myself highly elated, as it gives me tremendous pleasure to come out
with work on the topic TOBACCO REGULATION AND SMOKING BAN. I am thankful to my
teacher, Mrs., who gave me this topic. I am highly obliged for her guidance in doing all sorts of
researches, suggestions and discussions regarding my project topic by devoting her precious
time.

I thank to the H.N.L.U for providing Computer, library facility. And Lastly I thank my friends
and all those persons who have helped me in the completion of this project.

Thanks,

Muktesh Swamy

Ist Semester

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 Objectives of Study

The basic objective of my study would be to discuss tobacco regulations and smoking ban so that
they promote a better understanding of the topic.

Research Methodology:

This project work is descriptive & analytical in approach. It is largely based on the analysis of
articles based on tobacco regulations. Books & other references as guided by faculty of Legal
Methods are primarily helpful for the completion of this project.

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 INTRODUCTION

Tobacco appears to be as old as human civilization. Cultivation of the tobacco plant probably
dates back 8000 years when two species of the plant, Nicotiana rustica and Nicotiana tabacum,
were dispersed by American Indians through the southern and northern American continent.

Tobacco seeds were discovered in archaeological excavations in Mexico and Peru, and the
remains of permanent settlements built around 3500 BC showed that tobacco was an important
article to the inhabitants.1

Tobacco belongs to the family of plants called Solanaceae or the night shade family, which
contains about 60 species including potato and the genus Nicotiana. N. rustica, a mild-flavored,
fast-burning species, was the tobacco originally raised in Virginia, but it is now grown chiefly in
Turkey, India and Russia. Both the species of tobacco are annuals. Modern commercial varieties
of tobacco have descended directly from N. tabacum.2

The history of global tobacco trade is integrally linked with the history of India. It was to
discover a sea route to this fabled land, reputed for its spices, silk and gems, that Christopher
Columbus set sail in 1492. His wayward journey took him instead to America. This discovery’ of
the New World was accompanied by the discovery of tobacco by Portuguese sailors. This plant,
treasured by the American Indians for its presumed medicinal and obvious stimulant properties,
was eagerly embraced by the Portuguese who then moved it to the Old World of Europe. Even
though their quest for easy access to Indian spices was delayed by some years, the Europeans did
not fail to recognize the commercial value of this new botanical acquisition.

When the Portuguese eventually did land on India’s shores, they brought in tobacco. They
introduced it initially in the royal courts where it soon found favour. It became a valuable
commodity of barter trade, being used by the Portuguese for purchasing Indian textiles. The taste

1
Luthra U, Sreenivas V, Menon G, Prabahakar AK, Chaudhry K. Tobacco control in India: Problems and solutions. In:
Gupta PC, Hamner JE, Murti PR (eds). Control of tobacco-related cancers and other diseases
2
Arora M. The tobacco journey: Seeds of a menace.

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for tobacco, first acquired by the Indian royals, soon spread to the commoners and, in the
seventeenth century, tobacco began to take firm roots in India. Thus, tobacco travelled to the real
Indians from their curiously named American cousins, through the medium of European
mariners and merchants who sailed the seas and spanned the continents in search of new markets
and colonies.

It was with the establishment of British colonial rule, however, that the commercial dimensions
of India’s tobacco production and consumption grew to be greatly magnified. Initially, the
British traders imported American tobacco into India to finance the purchase of Indian
commodities.

When the American colonies declared independence in 1776, the British East India Company
began growing tobacco in India as a cash crop. Attempts were made, under the colonial rule,
both to increase the land under tobacco cultivation and to enhance the quality of the leaves
produced. The British East India Company and its successor, the British Raj, used tobacco as an
important cash crop, both for domestic consumption and foreign trade. The manufacturing
industry was, however, not established till much later, as the British believed in exporting the
leaf to Britain and re-importing cigarettes to India, with considerable value addition in the
process. As domestic consumption of cigarettes rose, the Imperial Tobacco Company
commenced production within India, retaining control and repatriating the profits.

In the late nineteenth century, the beedi industry began to grow in India. The oldest beedi
manufacturing firm was established around 1887 and by 1930 the beedi industry had spread
across the country. The price differential from cigarettes favoured the use of beedis by the
working classes and this domestic product soon supplanted cigarettes as the major form of
tobacco consumption. The tax policies adopted by the Indian Government after Independence
also favoured the beedi in comparison to cigarettes. This further fostered a growth in beedi
consumption.

While tobacco chewing was practiced for many centuries, commercial production and marketing
have been markedly up scaled recently, with the introduction of the gutka. The rate of growth of
consumption of gutka has overtaken that of smoking forms of tobacco. As a result, oral tobacco

8
consumption has opened a new and broader front in the battle between commercial tobacco and
public health in India.

The economics of tobacco, which introduced it into India and entrenched it during the colonial
rule, also provided a compelling reason for continued state patronage to the tobacco trade, even
in free India. The ready revenues that bolster the annual budgets, the ability to export to a
tobacco-hungry world market and the employment opportunities offered to millions provided the
rationale for encouraging tobacco, both as a crop and as an industry.

While economics may have been the principal force propelling the seemingly inexorable advance
of tobacco in India, there are also a multitude of social and cultural factors which need to be
recognized, so that the variations in its use across social, religious and ethnic subgroups can be
comprehended. Such factors have operated since the time tobacco entered India, though the
nature of the sociocultural determinants that influence individual and community responses to
tobacco may have varied over time, region, religious denomination and social class.

It is this tapestry of international linkages, powerful economic factors and distinctive cultural
influences which make the history of tobacco in India a fascinating study. This chapter attempts
to profile some of these in a brief narrative. Interested readers are advised to seek more detailed
information from the referenced publications, even as they are exhorted to join a collective effort
to permanently confine tobacco in India to the pages of history.

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 Introduction of Tobacco in India

Tobacco was introduced into India by Portuguese traders during AD 1600. Its use and production
proliferated to such a great extent that today India is the second largest producer of tobacco in
the world. Soon after its introduction, it became a valuable commodity of barter trade in India.
Trade expanded and tobacco spread rapidly along the Portuguese trade routes in the East, via
Africa to India, Malaysia, Japan and China. During this period, the habit of smoking spread
across several South Asian countries. Virtually every household in the Portuguese colonies took
up the newly introduced habits of smoking and chewing tobacco. Cochin and Goa, on the West
Coast of India, and Machilipatnam along the East Coast, were the main ports for Portuguese
trade.3

Tobacco was first introduced in the kingdom of Adil Shahi, the capital city of Bijapur, presently
in Karnataka in south India, along the trading route of the Portuguese.

3
Sanghvi LD. Challenges in tobacco control in India: A historical perspective.

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 Tobacco chewing in India

Tobacco, introduced as a product to be smoked, gradually began to be used in several other forms
in India. It became an important additive to paan (betel quid). Paan chewing as a habit has
existed in India and South-East Asia for over 2000 years. Stone inscriptions from the year AD
473 are historical evidence of its existence. In Hindu culture (the predominant religion in India);
paan chewing is referred to as one of the eight bhogas (enjoyments) of life4. Paan chewing was
adopted even by invading kings and settlers in India. It was also a part of the Mughal culture.
Several Mughal rulers were great connoisseurs of paan and employed specialists skilled in
preparing paans to suit all occasions. The social acceptance and importance of paan increased
further during the Mughal era.

Early Trade in Tobacco

Tobacco cultivation started in India in the seventeenth century during Akbar’s reign. Tobacco
cultivation was well established by the time the East India Company arrived5. With the increase
in the popularity of tobacco, it began to be grown in abundance in India. By the middle of the
seventeenth century, from being a valuable commodity in barter trade it became an item of
export to many ports along the Red Sea.

Tobacco use was popular to the extent that certain types of tobacco were especially imported
during the early eighteenth century.

4
Bhonsle RB, Murti PR, Gupta PC. Tobacco habits in India.
5
Wild A. Life under the Company Raj. In: The East India Company trade and conquest from 1600

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 Prohibitions and Bans on the use of Tobacco across the world

The demand for tobacco kept expanding steadily across the world and provided the impetus for
increased production of tobacco. With the advent of controversies against tobacco use and
concerns regarding the ill effects of tobacco use on human health, restrictions were laid in the
past as well.

In 1586, King Felipe II spoke of the tobacco plant as a “forbidden and harmful plant”6. Sultan
Murad IV of Turkey believed that tobacco use caused infertility and reduced the fighting
capacity of his soldiers. He declared tobacco consumption to be a capital offence in 1633.7

King James I of England has been described as the most learned man to ever occupy a British
throne. In 1604, he increased taxes on tobacco by 4000%, from 2 pence/lb to 6 shillings 10
pence/lb, to reduce imports to the country. In 1604 he wrote “A counterblast to tobacco” where
he made it evident that smoking is a bad practice.

In this ‘counterblast’, the most interesting lines are the following: ‘A custom loathsome to the
eye, hateful to the nose, harmful to the brain, dangerous to the lungs, and in the black stinking
fume thereof nearest resembling the horrible stygian smoke of the pit that is bottomless….’8

Tobacco reached Iran from India and Portugal through traders. In Iran, smoking of tobacco had
become such a fashion that high officials and nobles used to smoke even on horseback while
travelling. Soon, the habit became so popular that even the general public started offering hookah
to guests. Since many soldiers were addicted to smoking, Khalil Pasha of Iran issued a
prohibitory decree against tobacco smoking and announced that anybody caught smoking would
have his lips cut and eyes taken out. There is also documented evidence of a trader who was
burnt to death along with his bags of tobacco for smoking.

6
www.geocities.com/tabacweb/english/hist1.htm
7
Sudarshan R, Mishra N. Gender and tobacco consumption in India.
8
Chattopadhayya A. Harmful effects of tobacco noticed in history.

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 Prohibitions in India

Soon after its introduction towards the end of Akbar’s reign, tobacco became a popular product.
However, Jahangir, the son of Akbar, like his contemporaries, King James I of England and Shah
Abbas I of Persia, believed tobacco to be a noxious drug and forbade its use.9

Jahangir, after his accession on 24 October 1605, passed 12 orders to be observed as rules of
conduct (dastur-ul-amal). These have been mentioned in his memoirs (Tuzuk-e-Jahangiri).

His fifth order runs: They should not makewine or darbahara (rice-spirit) or any kind of
intoxicating drug or sell them.

It is noteworthy that within twelve years of its introduction in India, Jahangir noticed the ill
effects of tobacco and took measures to prohibit its use. In 1617, Jahangir passed orders against
tobacco smoking and he referred to the efforts undertaken by Shah Abbas of Iran to prohibit the
practice of smoking.

Debates around tobacco at the dawn of Independence

Mahatma Gandhi, who led the movement for Indian independence from British rule, repeatedly
spoke and wrote against the use of tobacco. He believed it to be both harmful to health and a
waste of money.

India attained independence in the year 1947, and the Constitution of India came into effect on
26 January 1950. A draft of the constitution was published in February 1948. According to
Article 47 of the Constitution: ‘State shall endeavor to bring about prohibition of the
consumption, except for medicinal purposes, of intoxicating drinks and drugs which are injurious
to health’

9
Chattopadhayya A. Jahangir’s interest in public health and medicine.

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In 1948, Sardar Bhopinder Singh Mann, who was a member of Parliament and part of the
drafting committee, proposed putting the word ‘tobacco’ between the words ‘drinks’ and ‘drugs’
in this clause. He stated: I am aware that in moving this amendment, I would be incurring the
displeasure of the influential members of this House.

He also said: I have no doubt that tobacco is an intoxicant and is more harmful to health than
liquor ... Take the villagers; they get liquor only off-and-on, but they smoke tobacco day and
night ... As far as the economic aspect is concerned, I can assure you that much greater loss is
incurred on account of tobacco than by liquor. The Constituent Assembly rejected his motion.10

10
http://www.acsh.org/publications/priorities/1304/notes.html

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 Tobacco Regulation in India

Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of

Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 2003or COTPA is an Act
of Parliament of India enacted in 2003 to prohibit advertisement and regulation
of tobacco business in India. The Act put restriction on tobacco products including
cigarettes, gutka, panmasala (containing tobacco), cigar, cheerot, Beedi, Snuff, chewing
tobacco, hookah, and tooth powder containing tobacco.

WHEREAS, the Resolution passed by the 39th World Health Assembly (WHO), in its
Fourteenth Plenary meeting held on the 15th May, 1986 urged the member States of WHO which
have not yet done so to implement the measures to ensure that effective protection is provided to
non-smokers from involuntary exposure to tobacco smoke and to protect children and young
people from being addicted to the use of tobacco; AND WHEREAS, the 43rd World Health
Assembly in its Fourteenth Plenary meeting held on the 17th May, 1990, reiterated the concerns
expressed in the Resolution passed in the 39th World Health Assembly and urged Member States
to consider in their tobacco control strategies plans for legislation and other effective measures
for protecting their citizens with special attention to risk groups such as pregnant women and
children from involuntary exposure to tobacco smoke, discourage the use of tobacco and impose
progressive restrictions and take concerted action to eventually eliminate all direct and indirect
advertising, promotion and sponsorship concerning tobacco;

 The Act prohibits smoking of tobacco in public places, except in special smoking zones
in hotels, restaurants and airports and open spaces.11 Places where smoking is restricted
include auditoriums, movie theatres, hospitals, public transport (aircraft, buses, trains,
metros, monorails, taxis,) and their related facilities (airports, bus stands/stations, railway
stations), restaurants, hotels, bars, pubs, amusement centres, offices (government and
private), libraries, courts, post offices, markets, shopping malls, canteens, refreshment
rooms, banquet halls, discothèques, coffee houses, educational institutions and

11
Section 4 of Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2003

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 parks.Smoking is allowed on roads, inside one's home or vehicle. The meaning of open
space has been extended to mean such spaces which is visited by public, and includes
open auditorium, stadium, and bus stand.
 Advertisement of tobacco products including cigarettes is prohibited. No person shall
participate in advertisement of tobacco product, or allow a medium of publication to be
used for advertisement of tobacco products. No person shall sell video-film of such
advertisement, distribute leaflets, documents, or give space for erection of advertisement
of tobacco products. However, restricted advertisement is allowed on packages of
tobacco products, entrances of places where tobacco products are sold.12 Surrogate
advertisement is prohibited as well under the Act.
 Tobacco products cannot be sold to person below the age of 18 years, and in places
within 100 metres radius from the outer boundary of a institution of education, which
includes school colleges and institutions of higher learning established or recognized by
an appropriate authority.
 Tobacco products must be sold, supplied or distributed in a package which shall contain
an appropriate pictorial warning, its nicotine and tar contents. Cigarette packets are
required to carry pictorial warnings of a skull or scorpion or certain prescribed pictorial
warnings along with the text SMOKING KILLS and TOBACCO CAUSES MOUTH
CANCER in both Hindi and English.
 The Act also gives power to any police officer, not below the rank of a sub-inspector or
any officer of State Food or Drug Administration or any other officer, holding the
equivalent rank being not below the rank of Sub-Inspector of Police for search and
seizure of premises where tobacco products are produced, stored or sold, if he suspects
that the provision of the Act has been violated.
 A person who manufactures tobacco products fails to adhere to the norm related to
warnings on packages on first conviction shall be punished with upto 2 years in
imprisonment or with fine which can extend to Rs. 5000, in case of subsequent
conviction shall be punished with upto 5 years in imprisonment or with fine which can
extend to Rs. 10000.

12
Section 5 of Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2003

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  A fine upto Rs. 200 can be imposed for smoking in public place, selling tobacco products
to minors, or selling tobacco products within a radius of 100 metres from any educational
institution.
 A person who advertises tobacco products shall on first conviction shall be punished with
upto 2 years in imprisonment or with fine which can extend to Rs. 1000, in case of
subsequent conviction shall be punished with upto 5 years in imprisonment or with fine
which can extend to Rs. 5000.
 The Act repealed The Cigarettes (Regulation of Production, Supply and Distribution)
Act, 197513
 The owner/manager/in-charge of a public place must display a board containing the
warning “No Smoking Area - Smoking here is an offence “in appropriate manner at the
entrance and inside the premises. In place where tobacco products are sold must display
appropriate messages like “Tobacco Causes Cancer” and "Sales of tobacco products to a
person under the age of eighteen years is a punishable offence”.14

13
Section 33 of Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2003
14
Rule 3 of Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and
Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Rules, 2004

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 Smoking Ban in India

'Smoking in India' is prohibited in public since 2 October 2008 under Prohibition of Smoking in
Public Places Rules, 2008 and Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of
Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution)
Act, 2003. The nationwide smoke-free law pertains only to public places. Places where smoking
is restricted include auditoriums, cinemas, hospitals, public transport (aircraft, buses, trains,
metros, monorails, taxis,) and their related facilities (airports, bus stands/stations, railway
stations), restaurants, hotels, bars, pubs, amusement centres, offices (government and private),
libraries, courts, post offices, markets, shopping malls, canteens, refreshment rooms, banquet
halls, discothèques, coffee houses, educational institutions and parks. Smoking is allowed on
roads, inside one's home or vehicle

Smoking is also permitted in airports, restaurants, bars, pubs, discothèques and some other
enclosed workplaces if they provide designated separate smoking areas. Anybody violating this
law will be charged with a fine of 200. The sale of tobacco products within 100 yards of
educational institutions is also prohibited. However, this particular rule is seldom enforced.

The Cable Television Network (Regulation) Amendment Bill, in force since 8 September 2000,
completely prohibits cigarette and alcohol advertisements.

In 2007, Chandigarh became the first city in India to become 'smoke-free'. However despite there
being some difficulties and apathy by the authorities the Smoke-Free Chandigarh project has
been a success story. Taking a cue from the Chandigarh's success, cities like Shimla also
followed the Smoke-Free Chandigarh model to become smoke-free. The success of Chandigarh
had been widely recognized and the architect of smoke-free Chandigarh Hemant Goswami. was
also awarded the Global Smoke-Free Partnership Award for the initiative.

The state of Kerala also had implemented a more relaxed smoke-free ordinance, becoming the
first state to do so, although this was not fully enforced until the implementation of the
nationwide smoke-free law.

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 Prevalence

In India, tobacco consumption is responsible for half of all the cancers in men and a quarter of all
cancers in women,15 in addition to being a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases and chronic
obstructive pulmonary diseases. India also has one of the highest rates of oral cancer in the
world, partly attributed to high prevalence of tobacco chewing. Forms of tobacco chewing
include pan (piper betel leaf filled with sliced areca nut, lime, catechu, and other spices chewed
with or without tobacco), pan-masala or gutkha (a chewable tobacco containing areca nut), and
mishri (a powdered tobacco rubbed on the gums as toothpaste).

The World Health Organization predicts that tobacco deaths in India may exceed 1.5 million
annually by 2020.

Of the estimated 1.1 billion smokers worldwide, about 182 million (16.6%) are in India and by
2020 it is predicted that tobacco will account for 13 percent of all deaths.

15
Tobacco or health: a global status report. Geneva: World Health Organization, 1997.

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 Conclusion

India could prevent over nine million deaths due to cardiovascular disease over the next decade
if it implements smoking bans and levy higher tobacco taxes, a new study has found.

Smoke-free laws and increased tobacco taxes would yield substantial and rapid health benefits
by averting future cardiovascular disease (CVD) deaths, researchers said. "Smoke-free
legislation has not been consistently implemented, one in three adults reported being exposed to
smoking at work, varying from 15.4 per cent in Chandigarh to 67.9 per cent in Jammu and
Kashmir," according to the study published in the journal PLOS Medicine.

"Tobacco cessation programmes have received limited government financial support, and
cessation advice by health care professionals is provided infrequently. Tobacco taxation remains
very low, at around 38 per cent of cigarette and 9 per cent of bidi prices, far below the minimum
of 70 per cent the WHO recommends," the research said.

The results of this study, led by Sanjay Basu and colleagues of Stanford University, US, suggest
that specific tobacco control strategies would be more effective than others for the reduction of
CVD deaths over the next decade in India and possibly in other low- and middle-income
countries.

The authors investigated which tobacco control measures could best reduce the burden of CVD
effectively in low- and middle-income countries by using a mathematical model.

Their micro simulation model estimated the effects of various tobacco control measures and
pharmacological therapies on deaths from heart attack and stroke in India between 2013 and
2022.

Five different tobacco control measures were compared in the model: smoke-free legislation,
tobacco taxation, provision of brief cessation advice by health care providers, mass media
campaigns, and advertising bans.

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In addition, other factors such as increased access to aspirin, antihypertensive drugs, and statins
were simulated for their effect on deaths from heart attack and stroke.

The authors conclude that, based on their model, smoke-free legislation and tobacco taxation are
expected to be the most effective strategies for reducing heart attack and stroke deaths over the
next decade.

These two measures alone could prevent about 9 million deaths from heart attack and stroke in
India by 2022, and a combination of tobacco control policies and pharmacological interventions
could prevent even more deaths, researchers said.

One of the advantages of using large-scale surveys to inform these models is that we can account
for unique populations who have different risk factors from places like the United States and the
United Kingdom.

For example, many Indians smoke informal cigarettes called 'bidis' which are highly risky to
health but are often missed by standard models focusing only on manufactured cigarettes.16

Therefore there is a need for stronger regulations on Tobacco in India. Smoking Ban need to be
implemented strongly.

16
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/smoking-bans-taxes-can-save-9-million-indians/1140556/

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 Bibliography/Webliogarphy

1. Wikipedia – The free encyclopedia

2. Newspapers – IndianExpress, Times Of India

3. World Health Organisation reports.

4. The Gazette Of India

5. www.acsh.org

6. www.geocities.com

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