Strengthening India's Tobacco Control: Gaps in COTPA and the Way Forward
UPSC Relevance
Prelims: Social Development, Health, Social Sector Initiatives; Key Legislations (COTPA 2003); International bodies (WHO); Taxation (GST).
Mains:
General Studies Paper 2: Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health; Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors.
General Studies Paper 3: Indian Economy (issues relating to mobilization of resources - Taxation).
Key Highlights from the News
India incurs a huge economic loss of 1.77 lakh crore rupees annually due to tobacco use (which is 1.04% of GDP).
Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA) 2003, India's main tobacco control law, has several shortcomings and is not efficiently implemented in many states.
Main shortcomings:
The law is weak in controlling smokeless tobacco (SLT) products, which are most widely used in India.
The law fails to prevent surrogate advertisements that come in the form of mouth fresheners.
Tobacco taxation is very low. India's tax burden is much lower than the 75% recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) (22% for bidis, 50% for cigarettes).
The effectiveness of statutory health warnings is not evaluated. The article suggests considering plain packaging (unbranded packets) to reduce attractiveness.
Although e-cigarettes are banned in India, they are still easily available online due to improper implementation of the law.
Government programs like the National Tobacco Control Programme (NTCP) lack a comprehensive perspective that addresses social causes like poverty and mental stress.
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