Srinagar, May 9:Just as the public outrage and administrative action against drugs intensifies, provisional stores, departmental stores and road side vendors in Kashmir openly flout the rules and laws meant to decrease the incidence of smoking.
The practice of selling loose cigarettes and cigarettes to minors here remains rampant, quietly easing children and teenagers into nicotine addiction.
Many shops in Kashmir now display a rate list of single cigarettes, sold without pockets, known as loosies, or per stick.
The bustling markets and neighborhood kirana shops across Kashmir have resorted to this practice to help the consumers tide over the hurdles created by law.
The Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA), 2003, and a specific 2016 notification by J&K government ban the sale of loose cigarettes, beedis, and loose tobacco.
The laws also bar sale of cigarettes to minors.
A senior official in the Drug and Food Control Organisation said it is this practice of selling loose cigarettes that helps minors buy it. “This ways it is affordable, and they don’t have to worry about storage and hiding while at home,” he said.
He said a single cigarette is what the minors start with, and it is their first step towards addiction.
Doctors also believe that the easy availability of single cigarettes is fueling tobacco consumption in Kashmir.
Kashmir is already grappling with smoking prevalence.
Rates among the highest in India.
The smoking prevalence is around 20.8 percent in J&K, nearly double the national average.
This has earned J&K the tag of the “smoking capital” of North India in various reports over the years.
In February this year, GoI increased the prices of cigarettes by imposing higher taxes and excise duties on tobacco products to discourage smoking and increase public health revenues.
However, this has not translated into decrease in consumption as loosies are available.
Under COTPA, tobacco products must be sold in original, intact packaging.
The packaging must bear prominent graphic health warnings, which loose cigarettes bypass entirely.
Selling to minors under 18 is also prohibited. In addition, sale of cigarettes within 100 yards of educational institutions is also banned.
Despite periodic enforcement drives, raids, and fines compliance remains poor.
Shopkeepers often cite customer demand and thin profit margins on full packs as reasons for the practice.
Doctors have expressed alarm over access for young people.
A single cigarette is often priced between Rs 8-25 depending on the brand, makes the habit affordable for students and teenagers who cannot afford full packs.
Loose sale cigarettes are rampant near schools, stakeholders said.
“Kashmir already has high stress levels due to various factors; easy tobacco access worsens public health outcomes like respiratory diseases and cardiovascular problems,” doctors said.
