Tobacco product sellers object to new rules; fear harassment from authorities

NT Correspondent
Bengaluru

The Karnataka State Retail Beedi- Cigarette Merchants Association has strongly objected to the implementation of the Karnataka Municipalities (Regulations and inspection of places used for sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products) Model Bye-Laws, 2020.

The association members held a protest in Freedom Park on Tuesday. As per the Model Bye-Laws, tobacco product sellers will have to get a licence, which will be renewed every year. In addition, multiple obligations on the part of the retailers, such as the display of licence and maintenance of a suggestion book, along with heavy penalties in case of noncompliance have been proposed in the regulation.

“Our members are already being subjected to daily harassment by enforcement officials, who take advantage of their lack of literacy and awareness to extract gratifications,” said B.N. Murali Krishna, President of the association. He added that based on the past experience with other laws, the very act of getting a licence will be challenging for small sellers as they neither have the money to pay nor are they educated enough to do the paperwork required for licensing.

“More laws will also mean more opportunities for local officials to harass our members,” he said. The association is also of the opinion that it will lead to a sharp increase in their cost of doing business at a time when they are reeling under the aftermath of the COVID pandemic. It alleged that the proposed licensing law for selling tobacco products is brought under pressure from anti-tobacco NGOs with vested interests, and will only aid shifting of tobacco retailing business to foreign companies, supermarkets and malls, hurting livelihoods of lakhs of small shopkeepers.

The association has demanded the state government to provide alternate means of livelihood before implementing the rules. It also said that its members not only sustain by selling tobacco products but also sell goods of daily needs such as biscuits, soft drinks and mineral water.

“Their pre-lockdown earnings were about Rs 6,000-12,000 per month which is barely adequate to feed two square meals a day to an entire family. Many of them have borrowed money to run their shops instead of depending on the government for employment,” said Murali, adding that the current Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA) rules in place are sufficient to regulate tobacco products.