the goan I network
PANAJI
The customs and central excise and Konkan railway departments skipped the meeting on the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA) at the North Goa Collectorate on Tuesday for reasons unknown.
The meeting, chaired by additional collector Vikas Gaunekar was held with representatives from the Labour and Transport Departments along with Dr Shaheen Sayed, who heads the North District Tobacco Control Enforcement Squad and Rolland Martins, co-ordinator of GOACAN.
The meeting, which for the first time was set to involve the customs and central excise departments, was held to discuss how to prevent cigarettes and other tobacco products from being transported into the state.
Martins said that imported cigarettes were on the rise in Goan markets, and these cigarettes, which were cheaper than Indian cigarettes, were getting very popular with youth and female adolescents, which was worrisome.
Further, Martins, holding up examples of 3 packets of imported cigarettes, said that the packets violated the COTPA Act by not carrying a pictorial representation of the effects of smoking, which was mandatory.
Instead of trying to seize these cigarettes once they already entered the market, Martins said the enforcement squad was trying to put an end to their import.
But for that, co-operation of the customs and Konkan railways was necessary.
With the departments skipping the meet, the squad continues to face the hurdle of roping them in.
Dr Sayed also said that from September 1, 2018 it is mandatory for all tobacco packets to carry the national “quit line.” “70-80% of tobacco users want to quit everyday. Those who buy the packet but want to quit, can call the number 24x7,” she said.
The quit line is 1800-11-2356.
The district enforcement squad will also be coming down heavily on government departments and shops which sell cigarettes that don’t have the “No Smoking” sign board as per the dimensions and lettering laid down in the act.
Last month, the squad conducted a raid outside GMC and found several gaddas without the mandatory signboards, said Martins.
