Signboards prohibiting tobacco sale within 100 yards of educational institutes: the appraisal of prohibition compliance and on-ground status of the anti-smoking law in New Delhi’s major administrative precinct

ABSTRACT

Cigarette smoking and tobacco use pose a threat to the health of young people and adolescents. The availability of tobacco vendors near educational institutes means higher availability to a vulnerable population. The Indian Government has enacted the Cigarettes and other Tobacco products (prohibition of advertisement and regulation of trade and commerce, production, supply and distribution) Act, 2003, or the COTPA Act, 2003 under a WHO resolution, which has further rules notified. Two important rules are prohibiting the sale of tobacco products within 100 yards of educational institutes and installing a signboard stating the prohibition to sell the same. This compliance was checked in 62 educational institutions in the administrative centre of India’s capital, New Delhi. The compliance of both the points, especially something easy as installations of boards is poor and less than half of the institutions had implemented. Tobacco sellers within 100 yards were present. Beyond 100 yards, but within reach was also where tobacco sellers were present. To save young adults, the compliance of COTPA, 2003 must be made strict and offenders punished severely.

KEYWORDS:

• Anti-smoking law
• signboards
• proximity to tobacco vendors
• COTPA Act
• educational institutes
• tobacco control

This article is related to:

Research for city practice

Acknowledgment

Thanks to Praveen K. for undertaking the groundwork for this study. Special thanks to Group Captain P Aanand Naidu of Tathatara Foundation ([email protected]).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Ethics statement

This study involves no human subjects, animal subjects or human tissue. No questionnaire or human participant involvement was present.

Additional information

Funding

No specific funding was taken for this study. This study was performed under paid fellowship titled ‘Built Environment and Public Health Research Fellow’ provided to the author by Tathatara Foundation Bobbili India.

Notes on contributors

Raja Singh

Dr Raja Singh is a visiting faculty in the department of Architecture, School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi where he has taught subjects related to built environment and public health. He is Built Environment and Public Health Research Fellow at Tathatara Foundation, Bobbili, India and Advisor at ISAC Centre for Built Environment Policy. He is active in research, practice and advocacy related to built environment and public health. He has been raising important issues related to the same at various national judicial and policy related forums. He is also the Secretary of STC:34, Indoor Environmental Quality Guidelines at ISIAQ. He is an alumni of SPA New Delhi, NIT Trichy and IET Bhaddal. His PhD was in the area of prevention of airborne infection spread in the built environment.