In a bid to curb the sale of tobacco products, the Punjab government today said it has nominated 28 state police officers as nodal officers to ensure strict implementation of the 'Anti Tobacco Laws' in all the districts. Stating this, Brahm Mohindra, state health minister in a statement here said that cancer was a matter of serious concern in the state where 80 persons died everyday due to tobacco in Punjab. He said considering the gravity of the problem, the state government has nominated senior officers of the rank of deputy superintendent of police and superintendent of police as nodal officers to scale up surveillance and tighten the noose around the offenders who are found selling tobacco products to the minors illegally. Mohindra said that police officers were nominated as nodal officer during a sensitisation workshop organised at the Punjab Health Systems Corporation. The minister said police department and health department would work in close coordination to check immoral and unethical practices like sale of illicit and loose cigarettes, hookah bars and sale of tobacco products to the minors.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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