Fines, cases fail to check tobacco smuggling

Trichy: It has been 11 years since former chief minister J Jayalalithaa banned the sale of tobacco products including pan masala and chewable tobacco in the state, but their sale continues uninhibited despite cases and penalties. Officials say this was mainly because of the huge customer base and big profit margins that sellers corner at the risk of inviting legal trouble. The food safety and drug administration department has sealed 577 establishments in the past three years for selling prohibited tobacco products and levied penalties amounting to Rs 75 lakh to curtail the availability of these deleterious substances. In a recent seizure on Tuesday night, one of the accused was identified as one Rajini. The food safety department had sealed his shop the previous night for selling gutka but that failed to deter him from supplying the contraband the next day without any fear of the legal repercussions. Sale of prohibited tobacco products yields a fivefold profit margin for the sellers who procure a packet of banned gutka for a mere Rs 8 but sell it for Rs 50. In the past three years, approximately more than 5 tonne of gutka was seized by the department and destroyed.

Department officials say the key reason why the illicit trade continues to flourish is the manufacture of tobacco products in neighbouring Karnataka where there is no ban on it. These are then clandestinely transported by road and distributed to wholesalers in the state including Trichy and disseminated to retailers. Irrespective of its price and health risks, users chew it to get a high. Jayalalithaa had banned tobacco products in 2013 citing increasing cases of oral cancer among youth. “Individuals grappling with debt are increasingly engaging in this illicit trade. The substantial profit helps them settle their debts, and they remain undeterred by the prospect of imprisonment,” said designated officer (DO) Dr R Ramesh Babu of the food safety and drug administration department, Trichy. Recidivism is rampant in this context as offenders rarely face stringent punishment under the law. Sources say the smugglers hide bundles of gutka products under the vegetables sacks on trucks. The department faces practical challenges in inspecting all cargo and vehicles traversing the border from Bengaluru. In instances where shops are sealed for selling banned gutka items, the establishments are closed for 15 days for the first offence, 30 days for the second offence and 90 days for the third offence. Even when the offenders are booked by the city and rural police under various sections of IPC, COTPA and JJ Act, they often secure bail and resume their illicit business. Convictions in such cases take years to materialize.Food safety department officials are counting on police to adopt more stringent measures such as invoking Goondas Act against habitual offenders. “The prevalence of gutka has come down in Trichy in recent months due to the consistent crackdown on sellers,” said DO Dr Ramesh Babu.