Question

You would have seen many small shops, including pan shops which sell cigarettes and pan masala products to the children. Do you know that sale of any tobacco products to children and sale of these items within 100 yards of any educational institution is banned? It is sometimes very difficult to remove these shops. Hold discussion with the Residents Welfare Association and Parent-Teacher forum to stop the sale of any tobacco product near your school.

Answer 1

Points for discussion with the Residents Welfare Association and Parent-Teacher forum:

1. Sale of tobacco products to children is banned by law.
2. Sale of tobacco products within 100 yards of any educational institution is also banned.
3. Shops selling cigarettes, beedi, gutkha, khaini, and pan masala near schools expose children to tobacco at an early age.
4. Tobacco is addictive, and most adult smokers start using it in their youth. Half of those who begin tobacco use in youth lose their lives by middle age.
5. The association should request shopkeepers to stop selling tobacco products near the school and to display a board saying 'No Tobacco Sale to Minors'.
6. The association can organise awareness drives, put up posters, and hold meetings with shop owners.
7. If a shop continues to violate the law, a written complaint should be made to the local police, municipal authorities, or food safety department.
8. The school, parents, and residents should work together to make the area around the school a tobacco-free zone.