Sikar shopkeepers fined for not displaying anti-tobacco signs

Jaipur: Shopkeepers not displaying signboards mentioning “Tobacco not to be sold to children” were fined in Sikar district on Thursday.
Officials of the health department of Sikar district administration conducted inspections of many shops under National Tobacco Control Programme and fined 19 of them for violating the Cigarette and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA).
Sikar chief medical health officer (CMHO) Dr Nirmal Singh said his team inspected many shops near Piprali village, Sikar city bus depot, Depot Tiraha Sikar and SK Hospital. The team also asked the shopkeepers to follow the COTPA rules, he said.
Deputy CMHO Dr Ashok Maharia said shops found not displaying information that tobacco products are not to be sold to minors were fined under COTPA. “All the shopkeepers were instructed to put up the warning boards. Our team also removed the promotional material of bidi, cigarette, zarda, khaini and tobacco that were put up outside the shops,” he added.
Even though sale of tobacco products to people below the age of 18 years is prohibited, tobacco use by children remains a major concern for health authorities. According to Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS-4), a school-based survey of students, 4.1% of students – 7.1% of boys and 0.4% of girls – in the age group of 13-15 years in Rajasthan were found using one tobacco product or the other.
GYTS-4 also found that most students in this age group smoke or use tobacco products at schools in Rajasthan