FCTC, COTPA, Civil Society & Hope
July 31, 2005, New Delhi: The National Convention by Consumer Coordination Council (CCC), supported among others by WHO and UNICEF, concluded today. The convention was a well-managed affair attended by nearly a thousand delegates from India and abroad. The zeal and energy level of Mr. Bejon Misra, the chairman of CCC, is worth mentioning. The good work he is doing in empowering consumers and motivating ground-level workers will not have many parallels in India.
Besides the main sessions, there were also parallel sessions focusing on specific areas in greater depth. The session on FCTC, with a focus on the success model and its future, featured Burning Bran Society (BBS) chairperson Hemant Goswami as a speaker.
Mr. Hemant mentioned that the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) is the first-ever international health treaty negotiated under the auspices of any UN agency. The strength of the treaty can be gauged by the fact that 168 countries have signed it after over 4 years of negotiations, and 75 have ratified it. Estonia is the latest country to ratify it on July 27, 2005. FCTC provides the basic guidelines for saving the present and future generations from the devastating health, social, environmental, and economic consequences of tobacco.
Hemant pointed out that the Indian legislation, the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2003 (COTPA), which has been framed in the spirit of international commitments on tobacco, is too soft and needs to be amended to make it more powerful and in tune with the FCTC provisions. Among the many areas for improvement mentioned, Mr. Goswami pointed out that the offense of selling tobacco to children or around educational institutes attracts a mere penalty of Rs. 200 under COTPA, whereas a similar moral offense of selling obscene material to youngsters attracts imprisonment from three to seven years under section 293 of the IPC. Similarly, Section 278 of the IPC provides for a fine of Rs. 500 for vitiating the atmosphere, and COTPA provides for a mere Rs 200 fine for a similar offense of smoking in public.
Article 15(7) of the FCTC was also referred to by Mr. Hemant, pointing out that the provision on the scope of licensing for tobacco shops, which is not even being considered in India at present, is suggested in the FCTC and could prove to be the elixir of a tobacco-free initiative. The licensing of tobacco shops in India, along the lines of liquor shops, will solve many problems faced in enforcing the laws and regulating tobacco growth, emphasized Hemant. He further stressed that revenue from tobacco product licensing can provide sufficient resources for the tobacco-free initiative and, at the same time, help counter the propaganda of tobacco corporations.
Mr. Shekhar Salkar from Note India highlighted the damage tobacco causes, while Dr. AC Tripathi from the Delhi health directorate highlighted the Delhi Government’s initiative to enforce COTPA. Prof. Manubhai Shah urged everyone to resort to civil judicial action so that the tobacco companies are made to pay through their nose for every health ailment or death resulting from tobacco. Prof. Shah mentioned that we can use US judicial cases as examples to seek relief in the courts.
 chairperson Hemant Goswami as a speaker.){kind=link}