Dehradun: The health department has penalised more than 40 shops and establishments in Dehradun’s Bidholi and Selaqui areas for selling tobacco products and cigarettes within 100 metres of educational institutions, violating the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA), 2003.
The action was taken last week under COTPA, which prohibits the sale of tobacco products within 100 metres of schools, colleges and other educational institutions. The law also bars the sale of tobacco products to minors.
Health department officials acknowledged that enforcement remains a challenge. “This is why we conducted these inspection drives and will continue taking further steps. However, we also require support from other agencies,” said chief medical officer Dr Manoj Kumar Sharma.
The department wrote to Dehradun police on Friday seeking assistance in enforcing COTPA provisions, including restrictions on the sale of tobacco products to minors. “Effective enforcement of the provisions of the Act at the district level will result in fine proceedings against violators. You are requested to direct all police station heads to take action against those violating the Act,” the letter stated.
However, educators in the capital said the problem remains widespread. With Dehradun being an education hub, they said students continue to be easy targets for tobacco, narcotics and alcohol.
“Educational institutions can try to keep a check on liquor being smuggled onto campuses, but a small 3-5 gm packet of narcotics is easy to conceal. Students are also getting smarter, but the ease with which these substances are available to them is worrying,” said Prof Arun Kumar, dean, School of Physical Sciences, Doon University. He added that while such drives help curb the problem to some extent, many of these establishments resume operations after some time.
“We require constant monitoring and strict implementation of regulations. One-time action will not curb this menace. We have shops barely 50m from our main gate selling all kinds of prohibited products. We can monitor our students inside the campus, but we cannot regulate their movements outside. These shops should be shut down permanently,” said the head of a department at a private university on Mussoorie Road, requesting anonymity.
SP (City) Pramod Kumar told TOI that such drives are conducted regularly but require continuous enforcement. “We have carried out inspections along Rajpur-Mussoorie Road and in Prem Nagar and Selaqui in recent months. Prohibited products, including hukkahs, have also been seized. We are aware of the issue and will continue taking action. Sellers as well as students have been sensitised. More stringent action will be taken against repeat offenders,” he said.
