New Delhi|HL
Soon, there will be a new licensing policy for tobacco products by government. In a bid to control consumption and bring the largely unregulated business of products such as gutka and pan masala under some sort of government watch.
The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) has started internal discussions on the policy implication of licensing for the sector that has been mired in strong political interests. “We will speak to the stakeholders to seek their views and understand if some regulation can be brought for this sector,” said a senior government official, who did not wish to be identified.
The deliberations follow sharp health and safety concerns raised by the health ministry over consumption of tobacco products and come ahead of the Conference of Parties (COP7) a global anti-tobacco conference to review the implementation of the World Health Organisation’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) that is being held in India for the first time.
