Introduction:
The effects of any drug varies from person to person. This is also true in the case of smoking tobacco. The effects of this substance depends on factors like age, size, weight, health, and the frequency at which an individual smokes. Moreover, smoking cigarettes during your teenage years can cause serious health issues. It can lead to severe respiratory problems and can even cause a deadly disease like lung cancer.
This is also a very delicate time when the addiction to smoke can take a very strong hold, making you too dependent on the drug. According to a survey conducted by the American Lung Association Epidemiology and Statistics Unit, among adults who have the habit of smoking every day, 87% of them tried their first cigarette when they were just 18 years old. 95% of these adults have had their first cigarette by the age of 21.
Negative Effects of Smoking
The immediate effects of smoking tobacco, like any other drug, depends on the amount of dosage ingested by an individual. Low to moderate dosage of this drug can lead to:-
- Inducement of initial stimulation, leading to a reduction of activity of the brain and your nervous system.
- Feelings of slight euphoria.
- Feeling of constantly feeling alert and concentrated.
- Feeling of immense relaxation.
- It also induces dizziness, nausea, intense or mild abdominal cramps, and vomiting.
- It can induce headache and coughing (induced by smoke irritation).
- Decrement in your usual appetite.
- Smoking can also lead to bad breath.
- It also decreases the blood flow to your fingers and toes.
- Smoking can also increase your blood pressure and heart rate.
A high dosage of tobacco or nicotine can lead to an overdose. When this happens, it means that their body had more nicotine than their body could handle. This is a more probable possibility if anyone has been smoking from such a young age. Other effects of a high dosage of nicotine include:
- The faint after-effects of a small dosage will magnify.
- It will make you feel faint most of the time.
- Increased dosage of tobacco can cause a lot of confusion in your brain.
- It can lead to a rapid decrease in blood pressure and breathing rate.
- It can cause intense or mild seizures.
- Heavy smoking can also cause respiratory arrest at a very young age.
These are some of the short-term effects that can be seen by any individual that smokes. One of the most deadly diseases, lung cancer, is caused because of the tar that comes out of cigarettes and coats the lungs and your throat. This can not only happen to the person who is smoking but also to the person who inhales the smoke. Thus, even when children are near someone who smokes regularly, they can get second-hand smoking effects. This is why smoking near any Educational Institution should be completely banned.
Passive smoking is a phenomenon that occurs when an individual breaths in the smoke without smoking himself. This is very harmful for babies and young children. Passive smoking can lead to red eyes (due to smoke irritation), an irritated and sensitive nose, and can even lead to serious heart diseases. Passive smoking is one of the main reasons why one should never smoke near kids.
Legislation in India
A variety of rules and regulations have been formulated to control the usage of tobacco in India. In 2004, the Government of India implemented a comprehensive list of rules to control the use of tobacco products in an Act called the Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products Act 2003 (COTPA 2003). This Act came into force on 1st December, 2004.
This Act comprises of the following Sections:-
- Section 4: This section talks about the prohibition of smoking in public places.
- Section 5: This section details prohibiting advertisements of cigarettes as well as other tobacco products.
- Section 6: This section prohibits the sale of any tobacco products to anyone below the age of 18 years. It also talks about prohibiting the sale of tobacco products in a particular area.
- Section 7: This section elaborates on the prohibition of trade and commerce of cigarettes and other tobacco products. It details about prohibition on the production, distribution, and supply of tobacco products.
Although the formulation of these laws is a one-time process, the effective implementation and execution requires time and effort. It is a continuous and difficult process to eliminate the factors that influence our youth to dive into this addictive and dangerous habit. In order to aid this rigorous process, our Government took some initiatives. In 2019, the Government of India released the ‘Guidelines for Tobacco-Free Schools or Educational Institutions.’ This was preceded by ‘Step-by-Step Guidelines for Implementation of Section 6b of the Act and Rules’ in 2017.
Section 6 details the prohibition on the sale of cigarettes or other various tobacco-related products to children below the age of 18. Section 6-A of the Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products Act 2003 instructs about not selling or offering any tobacco-related products to minors. And, Section 6-B of COTPA 2003 prohibits the sale and use of any tobacco products in an area that comes within a radius of one hundred yards about or 91m of any educational institution. The distance of one hundred yards or 91 metres will be measured radially, starting from the outer wall of that school or any outer fence/boundary of the school. Moreover, Section 4 of this Act prohibits anyone from smoking in a public area.
If an individual smokes inside the premises of an educational institutions, he is not only violating Section 6-B of the COTPA 2003 but also Section 4 of this particular Act. Educational Institutions, by their nature, are declared as public places. Therefore, smoking inside the premises of any Educational Institution is a violation of two Sections of the Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products Act 2003. This Act also instructs the owner of the school or any person who is the in-charge of the educational institution is responsible for displaying a board that prohibits the public from smoking. It has to be kept in a place where the sign is visible, for example, a board saying “no smoking” should be hung on the front gate of the Educational Institution.
How to register a complaint?
The laws demand the owner, the manager, the proprietor, or the supervisor, or the person-in-charge of that public place (or educational institution) to notify as well as display the names of those individuals against whom the complaint of violation may be made. If the individual who is in-charge of that institution fails to do so, then he shall be held liable for the individual offences. In this scenario, the person-in-charge will have to pay the fine on behalf of everyone who violated the laws.
In 2009, a helpline for reporting the smoking law violations was initiated by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The general public can call on the National Toll-Free Helpline No. 1800-110-456 to register a complaint.
Penalty
Any individual violating the provisions of Section 4 or Section 6 can be penalised to pay the fine of Rs. 200. Police Constables have the authority to collect this penalty only if they have arrived with the company of an officer that is above the rank of inspector. Some other authorities that are free to take action are:-
- State food and drug administration officers
- Panchayat Raj institutions’ representatives
- District health society
- Chief medical officers at the district level
- Civil surgeons
These people can take action within their defined jurisdiction. Moreover, you should always insist on a challan if you are fined for a violation.
Murli S. Deora vs Union of India [1]
The Hon’ble Supreme Court described the harmful and dangerous effects of smoking in public. This was the case that led the Court to realise that the absence of any statutory provision regarding public smoking was a mistake on their part. In this case, the Court detailed the ill effects of passive smoking and how dangerous can it be for the people around them.
In this judgement, the Supreme Court banned smoking in public places like hospitals, railways, public offices, auditoriums, public libraries, health institutions, educational institutions, and other places of public use.
Conclusion
Overall, it may be said that the after-effects of smoking is very dangerous for kids. Our country is trying to make Educational Institutions safe for kids, but it can’t happen until and unless all of us play our role in the proper implementations of the laws. It is very important for all the stakeholders to put forward a joined and coordinated effort. This includes the police, the people controlling and managing the educational institutions, and the general public. We all have to become more aware of the effects of passive smoking and second-hand smoke.
The laws cannot be effective until they are properly executed. Many schools still don’t have any sign of “no smoking” displayed on their premises. Educational Institutions need to be strict in following the anti-smoking laws. The authorities need to be strict in implementing such laws. If we are not careful with the youth of our country, it can lead to a very fatal result.
References:
- [1] Murli S. Deora vs Union of India (2001) 8 SCC 765
- Anupam Goswami, Laws on smoking ban in India and how to register a complaint, ipleaders, (June 2, 2014), https://blog.ipleaders.in/smoking-ban-in-india-complaint/
- Tanu Kulkarni, K.C. Deepika, Sale of tobacco, liquor common near schools, The Hindu, (February 7, 2016), https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/bangalore/sale-of-tobacco-liquor-common-near-schools/article8203783.ece/amp/
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