Monitoring of Tobacco and Alcohol availability around children and effective implementation of COTPA 2003 and JJ Act is the need of the hour

 

"Notice the gaps in the society: when a parent fails to take protective care of their child, then the Big companies intervene to fill the void, so it is not the question of the parent but how industries are making use of the opportunity by filling the void in the society"

Mr. Vatsyayan Chairperson, Nada India  was invited as a resource person by the LNJN National Institute of Criminology and Forensics science on 16-March-21 to conduct a session on Substance use among Street Children. He emphasized on monitoring of tobacco and alcohol availability around children and effective implementation of tobacco laws (COTPA 2003 and Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 (hereafter, JJ Act). The webinar saw various participants from the field of Judiciary  and Railway Protection Force from different states like Punjab ,Rajasthan,UP Uttarakhand, Maharashtra (Mumbai), West Bengal. 

More 22 people like them in police and Judiciary from UP, Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttarakhand joined today’s webinar.

The following points were discussed:

• On discussion about whether tobacco & alcohol are illegal or legal drugs, many participants were of the opinion that it is illegal for children as availability of alcohol at home environment has huge correlation to violence at home. If tobacco and alcohol are are necessarily present than it should be kept under a lock and key system so that parent are aware as to who uses it. But in most of the houses this system is not followed, Excise policy does allow people under 21 years 
• We have a comprehensive law but in collaboration with NTCP the effective implementation fades out over a period of time and is not sustainable. 
• Tobacco has become a mass self-medication as everybody consumes it and people are in rush to try it out without thinking about the consequences
• There was a discussion on the COTPA amendment bill 2020 and it highlighted the agreement to maintain the minimum legal smoking age to 21 years.
• Licensing should be imposed by all municipalities to tobacco vendors as well. When licencing is a requirement for being a chemist or alcohol vendor, then it is also equally important for tobacco vendors as anybody can buy in bulk and make easy money leading to easy addiction. The current no vendor licensing system is make tobacco more and more acceptable and available.
• Notice the gaps in the society: when a parents fails to take protective care of their child, then the Big companies intervene to fill the void, so it is not the question of the mother but how industries are making use of the opportunity by filling the void left by the parents.
• Monitoring and regulation system of tobacco and alcohol needs to be in place

Recommendations/ Call to action discussed:

• Availability of tobacco, alcohol and other addictive substance should be restricted
• There are not enough de-addication centres and tobacco cessation programs available for children
• COTPA Act 2003 should be implemented in a more sustainable manner and monitoring programs should not fade away over time 
• It is not the children who needs to be counselled but the family members who needs to be engaged. 
• We should not just work on statistics, but as a change maker we must work on prompting the change and work together as change maker. 
• The need is to bring about a qualitative change in runaway or substance addicted children so that they don’t find easy sources of money making 
• Involve civil societies in implementation of  COTPA Act 2003 and Juvenile Justice Act. These 2 acts must go hand in hand as well.

Over all this engagement forms as an evidence for our interventions in the areas of tobacco and alcohol as these stakeholders have also expressed support to the efforts of Nada India. Many participants felt that this session was touchy , interactive and informative.