Shops selling tobacco products may have to take a licence from the urban local bodies in Karnataka in the days to come, if the State government’s plan in this regard is any indication.

Chairing a review meeting of Karnataka Development Programme in Mangaluru on Wednesday, State Urban Development Minister UT Khader said tobacco-based products such as cigarette are now conveniently available in petty shops and retail stores, including those near the educational institutions, in urban areas.

Stating that it is not possible for police to check each of these shops and book cases under the provisions of Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA), he said his department is contemplating to make it compulsory for shops to obtain special permit from the urban local bodies in their area to sell tobacco-based products. This licence will be in addition to the trade licence the shopkeepers already need to possess.

However, the department will discuss this issue in detail with the departments concerned before framing rules in this regard.

Khader, who is also the Minister in-charge of Dakshina Kannada district, said it is difficult to find whether the cigarettes sold in loose are adulterated with narcotic substances after removing tobacco from them.

A mandatory provision for shops to have a special licence to sell tobacco products will help bring down the easy availability of tobacco-based products, and streamline the sale of such products. This will help control the easy availability of tobacco-based products near educational institutions, he said.

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