The Karnataka government is set to ban hookah bars in the state and also increase the age limit for buying tobacco products from 18 to 21 years. They plan to introduce these changes through amendments to the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA) during the upcoming winter session of the state legislature.
The move to bring these changes was decided following a meeting involving the Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Dinesh Gundu Rao and Minister of Youth Empowerment and Sports, B Nagendra on Tuesday, September 19. The Ministers expressed concerns about the growing number of individuals aged 12 to 25 visiting hookah bars. "We will soon table a bill to amend the existing COTPA to safeguard the younger generation who are increasingly falling prey to tobacco and drugs. We don't know much about the banned ingredients used in hookahs, which are getting children addicted to them," they said.
The Ministers said that the government will issue an order and involve the police to enforce this ban. Rao also stated that the Department of Health and Family Welfare is proposing additional amendments to COTPA, including raising the age limit for purchasing tobacco products from 18 to 21. "Earlier, it was 18 years, which resulted in a lot of underage children purchasing tobacco products. Now, we have moved an amendment to increase the age limit to 21 to buy any tobacco product," Rao said.
Rao further added that the government is considering an amendment to extend the ban on the sale of tobacco and tobacco products from a 100-metre radius around educational institutions to a 100-metre radius around educational, religious, health services, and government institutions.