On the event of World No Tobacco Day, the Karnataka authorities introduced a sweeping ban on using smokeless tobacco merchandise in public locations, increasing its efforts to curb tobacco consumption and defend public well being.
The transfer, led by Well being Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao, comes via an modification to the Cigarettes and Different Tobacco Merchandise Act.
The modification, which additionally bans hookah use in public institutions like eateries, pubs, bars, and eating places, was accredited by each homes of the state legislature and acquired the President’s assent earlier than being notified by the state authorities on Might 31.
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The revised legislation makes it unlawful to make use of not simply cigarettes, but in addition merchandise like chewing tobacco, gutka, khaini, and vapes in public areas. The state has additionally raised the minimal authorized age for buying tobacco merchandise to 21 and elevated the effective for smoking in public from ₹200 to ₹1,000. In a major crackdown on hookah bars, the legislation now permits for fines starting from ₹50,000 to ₹1 lakh and as much as three years of imprisonment for violations.
In accordance with the Well being Minister, the choice was pushed by mounting proof linking public tobacco use to elevated danger of airborne infections reminiscent of Covid-19 and tuberculosis. Throughout the pandemic, shared tobacco use and spitting in public posed extreme well being dangers, prompting the state to undertake a stricter method.
“These measures will play a crucial role in safeguarding public health,” Rao mentioned in a submit on X (previously Twitter), including that the state was dedicated to decreasing the well being burden attributable to tobacco.
Public well being specialists and anti-tobacco campaigners have welcomed the transfer, calling it a daring and much-needed step in curbing tobacco-related hurt in Karnataka.
(With company inputs)
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