The Madras High Court has recently urged the Union government to recognize the severe impact of filter tobacco products, particularly “Cool Lip,” on students, and to take action under the Food Safety Act to ban the sale of such items.
Justice D. Bharatha Chakravarthy emphasized the urgency of the situation, directing the Tamil Nadu government to establish “Child Tobacco Cessation Centres” in every district to provide counseling and treatment for minors addicted to these banned tobacco products.
These directives came in response to a troubling rise in tobacco use among children, with the court noting that it handles at least ten bail cases related to these products each day. “An extreme emergency looms. There is a sudden spurt of children using tobacco products, specifically a product named Cool Lip.
A significant quantity of these tobacco products has been seized in Tamil Nadu, particularly around schools. This court must decide on at least ten cases daily concerning bail in such matters,” the High Court observed.
The court’s attention was drawn to a bail application filed by Aunestraja, who was arrested in August after being found in possession of 27 packets of Cool Lip tobacco products. The state authorities alleged that he smuggled these products from other states into Tamil Nadu. The High Court had granted him interim bail in September, which was later made absolute on October 30, amid growing concerns regarding tobacco use among schoolchildren.
In its ruling, the court expressed alarm over the increasing prevalence of tobacco products among students and acknowledged the difficulties state authorities face in curbing the smuggling of tobacco products into Tamil Nadu.
Justice Chakravarthy pointed out that while the sale of these products is prohibited in Tamil Nadu and several other states, the Union government should take additional measures under Section 86 of the Food Safety Act to prevent access to these products by students nationwide.
“The state governments are bound to comply with the directions; therefore, the Central Government should consider the serious nature of the situation and issue further directives under Section 86 of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. The widespread use, immense popularity, and appeal of these new dipping/filter tobacco products to children must be taken into account,” the High Court stated while disposing of the petition.
Advocate D. Venkatesh represented Aunestraja, while Additional Solicitor General A.R.L. Sundaresan, assisted by Deputy Solicitor General K. Govindarajan, appeared for the Union government. The Tamil Nadu government was represented by Additional Advocate General Veera Kathiravan, Government Pleader P. Thilak Kumar, and Additional Public Prosecutor R.M. Anbunithi.
