Karnataka raises legal age to buy tobacco products to 21, bans hookah bars
The Karnataka government on Friday officially notified a sweeping amendment to the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA), 2003, with stricter measures aimed at curbing tobacco use across the state.
The COTPA (Karnataka Amendment) Act, 2024, received presidential assent on May 23 and was published in the state gazette on May 30.
Among the key changes, the legal age to purchase cigarettes and other tobacco products in Karnataka has been raised from 18 to 21 years. Additionally, the sale of tobacco products within 100 metres of any educational institution has been prohibited, and the sale of loose cigarettes or single sticks is no longer allowed.
In a significant move to discourage alternative tobacco consumption, the amendment also bans hookah bars across the state. The new Section 4A introduced under the Act prohibits the operation of hookah bars in any premises, including restaurants, pubs, or cafes. Violators operating hookah bars will face imprisonment of one to three years, along with fines ranging from Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh, under the newly added Section 21A.
The definition of 'use' of tobacco in public places has also been expanded to include both smoking and spitting, with a continued allowance for designated smoking areas in hotels with over 30 rooms, restaurants with seating for more than 30 people, and airports. Also, penalties for violating tobacco use rules in public places have been increased. Fines under sections 21, 24, and 28 of the Act have been raised from Rs 200 to Rs 1,000.
The Karnataka government has stated that the amendment is part of a broader effort to strengthen public health safeguards, particularly for younger populations and in sensitive areas like schools and colleges.
In fact, despite a government order banning hookah bars in 2024, many hookah cafes were still illegally operating in suburban areas of Bengaluru. The Central Crime Branch has since identified and raided 20 such establishments, seizing hookah pots and flavours worth over Rs 12 lakh.
The Karnataka High Court's April 2024 ruling also dismissed challenges from restaurant owners, affirming the ban's legality under Article 47 of the Constitution, which mandates states to protect public health. The court noted that hookah bars, even those offering 'herbal hookah', violate regulations due to the presence of harmful substances like nicotine and molasses.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
34 minutes ago
- Time of India
Two held in RJD neta murder case
Buxar: Police on Sunday claimed to have cracked the murder of Arjun Yadav, president of the RJD labour cell in Buxar, by arresting two alleged shooters, including a minor. Yadav was shot dead on May 26 at the main gate of the Chausa power plant under the Mufassil police station area. He died on way to Varanasi after being referred from sadar hospital. Buxar SP Shubham Arya said a contract worth Rs 3 lakh was given by Manish Gupta of Bhojpur, who is absconding. The motive was a dispute over criminal dominance and contracts. Two suspects – Toofani Kumar Gupta of Jaipur village under Itadhi police station and a minor – have been arrested. "Both confessed during interrogation," said the SP. Police recovered a country-made pistol, two cellphones and the clothes worn during the murder. A special investigation team, led by SDPO Dheeraj Kumar, was formed and used CCTV footage, technical surveillance and human intelligence to make the arrests. "Raids are on to arrest the main accused, Manish. Only after his arrest can the full conspiracy be uncovered," Arya said. Investigations are also under way into the involvement of the eight named accused listed in the FIR. Police said all absconders would be arrested and brought to justice soon.
Indian Express
43 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Sheikh Hasina charged with crimes against humanity: The court in question, what she is accused of
Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal accepted on Sunday (June 1) that ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina could be charged with crimes against humanity. The court directed investigators to produce Hasina, as well as a former home minister and a former police chief, before the court on June 16. Hasina has been in exile in India since August 2024, when an uprising led to the culmination of her 15-year reign in power. Bangladesh sent a formal request to India to extradite Hasina in December 2024. What is the standing of this court, and what is Hasina accused of? We explain. The tribunal was established under the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act. It was passed two years after the Liberation War of 1971 led to the formation of Bangladesh, formerly known as East Pakistan. The Act provided for the 'detection, prosecution and punishment of persons for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and other crimes under International Law committed in the territory of Bangladesh during the war of Liberation, particularly between 25 March to 16 December 1971.' It was seen as necessary, given the bloody nine-month period of fighting unleashed by the forces of West Pakistan, which rejected the results of the 1970 general elections. In East Pakistan, the Awami League, led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (the father of Sheikh Hasina), won 160 of the 162 electoral seats. However, the ruling establishment of Pakistan refused to accord legitimacy to the win to restrict the growth of a popular, Bengali nationalist sentiment. As a result of brewing discontent in East Pakistan due to the imposition of West Pakistan's cultural and political ideas over the years, it had the opposite effect, and protests broke out. On March 25, 1971, the Pakistani military began a brutal crackdown that saw the mass slaughter of Bengalis and the influx of Bangladeshi refugees into India. The conflict ended on December 16, days after India formally declared war on Pakistan on December 4. How was the tribunal formed? According to the book Trials for International Crimes in Asia (2015), some 82,000 members of the Pakistani armed forces and some 11,000 civilians were taken as prisoners of war or internees by the joint command of the Bangladesh and Indian forces. The Act was passed in 1973 to try 195 prisoners of war who were alleged to have committed war crimes. However, in February 1974, 'Pakistan recognised Bangladesh as an independent state and the relationship between the two countries improved.' Bangladesh then granted clemency to the 195 suspects, and they were repatriated to Pakistan. More than three decades later, the Hasina-led Awami League government 'revived the idea of trials, declaring its intention to prosecute members of the political opposition for war crimes.' To do so, it amended the Act in 2009 to include civilians under its ambit and formed a three-member tribunal, known as the International Crimes Tribunal. Among the first people it prosecuted were members of the political opposition, including the Jamaat-e-Islami. The party was opposed to the liberation of Bangladesh and advocated for remaining with Pakistan, but has maintained that it did not commit atrocities during the war. According to an AFP report, under Hasina, the ICT sentenced more than 100 people to death. The court was often criticised by rights groups for not following international conventions. For instance, the book notes that the 1973 Act permits trials in absentia (without the accused present), despite the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights asserting a person's right to be tried 'in his presence'. Hasina was ousted following weeks of protests, initially led by students who opposed a controversial court decision to extend a quota in public jobs and education. The quota was for the children and grandchildren of people who fought in the Liberation War. The government agreed to the protesters' demands on scrapping the quota, but the situation worsened after Hasina equated the protesters with the descendants of the razakars – those who led the brutal repression during the 1971 war. Over time, it coalesced into anti-Hasina protests, and the subsequent police crackdown saw more than 450 people killed. According to the Bangladeshi newspaper The Daily Star, five specific charges have been brought against Hasina. Chief Prosecutor Tajul Islam submitted the complaint to the tribunal, including counts of murder, attempt to murder, and other 'inhumane' acts. The defendants were accused of 'inciting, facilitating, being complicit in, and failing to prevent these crimes committed against civilians by law enforcement and armed cadres of the Awami League and its affiliates.' Second, Sheikh Hasina is accused of 'ordering the extermination of student protesters through the use of helicopters, drones, and lethal weapons.' It then accuses them in the case of the murder of Abu Sayed, a protesting student, near Begum Rokeya University in Rangpur. 'Sheikh Hasina is accused of making inflammatory remarks and ordering the use of deadly weapons against protesting students,' the report said. There are two other cases mentioned – the shooting and murder of six unarmed protesters in Dhaka's Chankharpul and the shooting of six student protesters in Ashulia. Rishika Singh is a Senior sub-editor at the Explained Desk of The Indian Express. She enjoys writing on issues related to international relations, and in particular, likes to follow analyses of news from China. Additionally, she writes on developments related to politics and culture in India. ... Read More
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Arjuna awardee Jagdish Bhola, convicted in one of Punjab's largest drug rackets, walks out of jail after 12 years
1 2 Bathinda: Twelve years after he was arrested in a multi-crore drug racket, Arjuna Award-winning wrestler and former Punjab Police DSP Jagdish Bhola finally walked out of jail on Sunday. A bench of the Punjab and Haryana high court had granted him bail on May 21, with various conditions, including a bail bond of Rs 5 lakh and two sureties. Bhola had won a silver medal in the Asian Wrestling Championship in 1991 and appeared in the Punjabi movie Rustam-e-Hind in 2008. A deputy superintendent of police (DSP), Bhola was dismissed from Punjab Police in 2012. He was arrested in Nov 2013 in connection with a Rs 700-crore drug racket. Bhola was in jail for nearly 12 years. He has been convicted twice — in 2019 and 2024. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) named him an accused in the multi-crore synthetic narcotics racket after an investigation into money laundering was initiated under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act in 2013. In Feb 2019, Bhola was convicted and sentenced to 24 years in jail by a special CBI court in Mohali in the Rs 700-crore drug racket busted Punjab Police in 2013. Punjab Police had seized heroin, methamphetamine, pseudoephedrine, ephedrine, opium, intoxicating powder, and Rs 1.91 crore, besides some foreign currency and arms from him. In the second conviction, Bhola was sentenced to 10 years in jail in a drug-linked money laundering case of Mohali in July 2024. Earlier, the disgraced cop and wrestler was allowed to visit his native village, Raike Kalan in Bathinda district, for five hours to perform the last rites of his father, Balshinder Singh, on Jul 26, 2024. Before this, he had come out to perform the last rites of his mother for a brief period in Jun 2023. MSID:: 121550671 413 |
