No total ban on tobacco products: NTCP deputy director

DIMAPUR: The National Tobacco Control Programme (NTCP) deputy director and state nodal officer, Dr Arenla Walling, on Monday said even though tobacco has become a serious threat to our society, there is no total ban on the sale of tobacco products under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA), 2003.
She said the department has not asked any third party except the authorised officials to carry out enforcement of COPTA provisions on tobacco products.If there are any such activities, the department has nothing to do with them, she added.
Last week, the Confederation of Nagaland Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Dimapur Chamber of Commerce and Industry had flayed the Nagaland government for its silence over the imposition of the recent ban on the sale of tobacco products in the state by the Khango-led NSCN (K).
"The tobacco epidemic has been taking a heavy toll on the society as indicated by the rise in tobacco-linked diseases and economic burden related to tobacco use. Our society must wake up to the threat posed by the tobacco industry before it is too late," Walling said.
She said the NTCP has been carrying out various activities to create awareness about the dangers of tobacco products through programmes in educational institutions, churches and communities in Nagaland.
Walling said the state tobacco control cell is according priority to Section-4 of the COTPA 2003, which prohibits smoking in public places, offices and workplaces to protect non-smokers, Section 6 (a) that bans sale of tobacco products to anybody below 18 years of age and Section 6 (b) that bans sale of tobacco products within 100 metres of any educational institution.