Tobacco Advocacy

Cotpa Rules 2008

The Control of Tobacco Products Act, commonly known as COTPA, came into effect in 2004. The Act covers prohibition of advertisement and regulation of trade and commerce, production supply and distribution of tobacco products.

The Act - short title is called; Prohibition of Smoking in Public Places Rules - 2008 closes loopholes which allowed smoking in some public places. The rules , which officially become law on October 2nd, do not allow smoking in any public places where non-smokers may be present.

Public places include; workplaces, shopping malls, airports, bus and train stations, hotels, cinema halls, shops and restaurants.

Currently, hotels with 30 or more rooms or restaurants with 30 or more tables can have a smoking area. The latest rules differ in the sense that smoking areas in these places now have to be physically separated with full height walls, automatically closing doors, and separate negative air pressure to not allow smoke to drift outwards. This space will also only be allowed for the purposes of smoking and no other services will be allowed.

Furthermore, no ashtrays, lighters or other objects to facilitate smoking shall be provided in the smoke free places outside of the regulation smoking areas.

Signage specifications as per the revised COTPA regulations can be sourced from the second hand smokes kills directory - COTPA signage.

New Regulations

Prohibition of Smoking in Public Places Rules, 2008

Effective October 2, 2008, the Indian government will expand the prohibition on smoking in public places and workplaces to protect individuals from the hazards of secondhand tobacco smoke.

As part of this new law, the prohibition on smoking in public places includes:

• Hotels
• Restaurants, coffee houses, pubs, bars, airport lounges, and other such places visited by the general public
• Workplaces
• Shopping malls
• Cinema Halls
• Educational Institutions and Libraries
• Hospitals
• Auditorium, open auditorium, amusement centres, stadium, railway station, bus stop etc.

Compliance:

Individuals in charge of public places and workplaces (i.e., owners, proprietors, managers, supervisors) shall be held responsible for complying with the law by ensuring that:

• No person smokes in the public places covered by the law
• Smoking may be permitted in hotels with 30 rooms or more, restaurants with seating capacity of thirty or more persons, and airports, but only in rooms
  • that are physically separated and surrounded by full height walls on all sides with an entrance having an automatically closing door normally kept closed
  • has an air system that is exhausted directly to the outside and has negative air pressure in comparison to the remainder of the building
  • that are not used for any purpose other than smoking, that is no food or beverage is served and no other service is provided
• All designated smoking areas are prominently placed away from entrances/exits of buildings
• Signage on smoking restrictions are prominently placed throughout the public places, and follow the guidelines set by the law
• No ashtrays, matches, and lighters are provided in public places
• The name of the person(s) to whom a complaint may be made by anyone who observes others smoking in the public places is displayed in the public places.
• Individuals who do violate the law are reported. Lack of appropriate reporting shall result in a fine impended upon individuals in charge of the designated public place

Penalties:

For individuals not abiding the law (or persons in charge of public places not reporting/enforcing the law), a fine will be issued, and possible criminal sanction.

Enforcement:

Authorized persons responsible for imposing and collecting fines against the violation include those in charge of designated areas. For instance, for:

• Public places: Tax inspectors, health directors, central/state administrator heads, anti-tobacco nodal officers
• Railways: Station leaders
• Government offices: Gazettes officers
• Hospitals: Hospital heads (i.e., directors, superintendents, administration heads)
• Post offices: Post masters
• Private offices/workplaces: Office head (i.e., managers, administration heads)
• Educational institutions: Institution heads (i.e., principals, headmasters, teachers)
• Libraries: Library heads, assistants, and librarians
• Airports: Airport heads (i.e., managers, airport/airline officers)
• District Hospital Buildings /Health Hospital/ Medical Officer at Primary Health Centre (PHC) Institutions/ dispensaries : Civil Surgeon /Chief Medical Officer(CMO)

Prohibition of advertisement, promotion and sponsorship of Cigarettes and other tobacco products:

These rules may be called the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution (Amendment) Rules, 2005.

1. The size of the board used for the advertisement of cigarettes and any other tobacco products displayed at the entrance of a warehouse or a shop where cigarette or any other tobacco product is offered for sale shall not exceed sixty centimeters by forty-five centimeters.
2. Each such board shall contain in an Indian language as applicable, one of the following warnings occupying the top edge of the board in a prominent manner measuring twenty centimeters by fifteen centimeters, namely:-
• Tobacco causes cancer, or
• Tobacco kills
3. The health warning referred to in sub-rule 2 must be prominent, legible and in black colour with a white background.
4. The display board shall only list the type of tobacco products available and no brand pack shot, brand name of the tobacco product or other promotional message and picture shall be displayed on the board. The display board shall not be backlit or illuminated in any manner.
5. The owner or manager or in-charge of the affairs of a place where cigarettes and other tobacco products are sold shall not display tobacco products in such a way that they are visible so as to prevent easy access of tobacco products to persons below the age of eighteen years.

Prohibition on sale of tobacco products to minors

These rules may be called the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Rules, 2004.

Prohibition of sale to minors. —

1. the owner or the manager or the incharge of the affairs of a place where cigarettes and other tobacco products are sold shall display a board of minimum sixty centimeter by thirty centimeter at conspicuous place(s) containing the warning “Sale of tobacco products to a person under the age of eighteen years is a punishable offence”, in Indian language(s) as applicable.
2.  The owner or the manager or the in-charge of the affairs of a place where cigarettes or other tobacco products are sold shall ensure that no tobacco product is handled or sold by a person below the age of eighteen years.

Cotpa Enforcement

The Government is committed to stronger enforcement of the revised COTPA laws. As such, a broad number of officials have been given the responsibility of imposing and collecting fines for smokers and managers who breach the law.

Officers authorised to impose fines apart from the police include; heads of public and private institutions, human resource managers, hospital administrators, university, college and school headmasters and teachers, airports, train and bus station controllers, and library and postal service administrators.

Fines for individual smokers will be up to 200 INR, however fines for public places managers will be the sum total of all the breaches in their jurisdiction. Therefore, if ten smokers are found to be breaching the law in any public place, the management is liable for a 2000 INR fine (200 INR x 10 smokers).