KOHIMA — As
Nagaland joins the global observance of World No Tobacco Day, law enforcement
officials and health professionals in Kohima have underscored the urgent need
for greater community involvement to address rising tobacco use, especially
among minors.
Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Kohima, Soriso
Quinker, told Eastern Mirror that enforcement of the Cigarettes and Other
Tobacco Products Act (COTPA) cannot rest solely on the police.
Section 6(b) of COTPA prohibits the sale of tobacco products
within a 100-yard radius of educational institutions, and there is a committee
under COTPA, but enforcement is typically carried out by the district-level
coordination committee which involves the police, Health department, district
administration, Education department and Food Safety department, he explained.
Police alone cannot effectively enforce COTPA as it is not
just a matter of law enforcement but also of public health legislation, he
said.
Tobacco products seized by the enforcement committee during
one of their operations.
Challenges in
enforcement
According to Quinker, enforcement teams are activated when
nodal officers notify violations, but the process is hampered by logistical and
systemic limitations.
“We also have difficulty in proving that the shopkeeper sold
tobacco to minors within the 100 yards of an educational institution, so it
becomes difficult to verify without proper geo-verification,” he said. Many
schools fail to display mandatory signboards, making enforcement more
challenging.
Another issue the official highlighted was that the penalty
for public smoking is only a nominal fine amount of INR 200, which according to
him, fails to act as a deterrent for habitual offenders.
The officer also lamented that the sale of tobacco in the
state is widespread with no effective monitoring and reporting mechanism where
they can track violators or monitor repeat offenders at the police station
level.
Quinker opined that most of these challenges are due to the
lack of awareness about the provisions of COTPA among the public and even
within the enforcement agency, shopkeepers, and school establishments. As such,
he recommended regular training and sensitisation of school staff, shopkeepers
near schools, and repeat inspections by the Health department, administration,
and police to deter sales to minors.
High prevalence among
minors
Dr. Arenla Walling, State Nodal Officer for tobacco control,
shared that according to the 2019 Global Youth Tobacco Survey, 43% of
Nagaland’s school children aged 13–14 use tobacco—62% of boys and 24% of
girls—making Nagaland the state with the second-highest youth tobacco use in
India.
She added that in India, tobacco is linked to 50% of cancer
cases among males and 20% among females, and contributes to 40% of tuberculosis
cases and 33.3% of all cancers.
Walling also shared that district dental OPDs reported 325
pre-cancerous cases and 22 confirmed oral cancer cases in the past year, many
of which are linked to smokeless tobacco products like gutka, paan with zarda,
khaini, and others.
Despite having tobacco control laws in place, she opined
that enforcement gaps and the continued social acceptance of tobacco use
severely undermine tobacco control efforts, particularly in high-burden states
like Nagaland.
Walling encouraged families to create tobacco-free homes,
speak openly with children, and support those trying to quit. Schools, faith
leaders, and community groups also play a key role in addressing this epidemic
to secure our communities from the growing health crisis from tobacco use, she
stated.
Schools taking action
Some schools in Kohima have taken active steps to prevent
tobacco use among students.
Tepuchano Kikhi, Head Teacher of Government Middle School
for Children with Special Needs (CWSN) in Lerie, Kohima, said the school
conducts awareness programmes and surprise checks. If any student is caught,
they are given a warning and then given consultations on how tobacco use will
impact them negatively in the future, she said.
She added that youth in the colony have not only banned the
sale of tobacco around the school area but also take the initiative of checking
the shops for violations.
A Nenia Theresa, Principal of Modern Higher Secondary School
Kohima, shared that the school has formed an anti-tobacco committee that
includes teachers and student representatives. The committee along with the
discipline committee often conducts surprise checking on students, she said.
“We’ve warned nearby shops not to sell tobacco to students.
Students caught with tobacco are first fined INR 1000. Repeat offenders would
face parent intervention, but we haven’t had any so far,” she said.
Theresa also shared that the school recently organised a
seminar where teachers who have used tobacco spoke directly to students who
struggle with similar habits.
Meanwhile, another higher secondary school in Kohima,
speaking on condition of anonymity, said their school is a ‘tobacco-free
school’ and conducts regular awareness and surprise checks. Student offenders
are fined and their parents are also informed.
Tobacco products seized by the enforcement committee during
one of their operations.