The Wire | January 2, 2021
Read the PublicationEarlier last month, India’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare placed in the public domain the ‘Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) (Amendment) Bill 2020‘ for pre-legislative consultations. If passed by parliament, it will be one of the first laws with significant public health ramifications in India’s post-COVID-19 society. One of the many lessons of this pandemic is the need to strengthen public health related laws and policies. Now more than ever, we need to revisit India’s national tobacco control measures. While the 2020 amendment Bill promises to address several lacunae in India’s parent tobacco control law, it leaves many urgent issues unaddressed.