On Wednesday, the Union Health Ministry announced that shops that sell tobacco are banned from selling any non tobacco products especially ones that will attract underage children.
The Health Ministry has also asked the state governments to develop a mechanism to ensure shops selling tobacco get authorisation from municipal bodies.
This step will help the government check the sale of tobacco products as well as preventing exposure to smoking as a fashion status to children.
The Juvenile Justice Act of 2015 has been put into action by the central government. The act declares that giving any child a tobacco product is punishable with seven years rigorous imprisonment.
India and China are among the top ten countries for the largest number of smokers. The list includes U.S., Japan, Philippines, Germany, Russia, Bangladesh, Brazil and Indonesia. All the ten countries together make up for two thirds of the world’s smokers.
