Tobacco vendor licensing plugs the loopholes in implementing lifesaving health laws

Shobha Shukla– CNS
AI-generated content may be incorrect. Before the intergovernmental global tobacco treaty meet opens next month, experts call for tobacco vendor licensing so that governments can enforce lifesaving tobacco control policies, protect children and youth from misleading tobacco industry tactics and lies, and progress towards ending tobacco use. “No one must suffer from tobacco-related diseases or die of them,” rightly said Dr Tara Singh Bam, noted global health expert and Asia Pacific Director of Vital Strategies.
“Tobacco vendor licensing reduces tobacco product availability and accessibility, particularly to vulnera- ble youth. A key tobacco control measure, tobacco vendor licensing can limit tobacco retailer density around schools, parks, and hospitals; this is critically important because vendor abundance normalises tobacco use, increases expo- sure to tobacco advertisements, and thwarts quit efforts. Tobacco vendor licensing can also restrict the types of products sold alongside tobacco and ensures inspectors know where products are sold, allowing for more effective enforcement of all point-of-sale tobacco laws,” said Dr Tara Singh Bam, who also serves as Board Director of Asia Pacific Cities Alliance for Health and Development (APCAT).
With no licensing for tobacco retail, tobacco industries get a freewheeling chance to violate lifesaving health policies – and keep profiteering while tobacco users suffer the assault of deadly tobacco-related diseases and die prematurely.
With strict licensing for tobacco retail, governments get a legal mechanism to enforce tobacco control policies and ensure compliance by retailers to all laws – for example, penalise those retailers who violate sale of tobacco to minor law, or sell illegal tobacco products (such as, e-cigarettes or vapes which are banned in several countries globally) or violate ban on point-of-sale tobacco advertising, promotion and/or sponsorship.
Almost 3 decades of enforcing tobacco retail laws in Singapore
“Singapore had first established its tobacco control law in 1993. Soon after, tobacco retail laws came into force in 1998. Singapore also made laws in 2003 to license importers and wholesalers of tobacco pro-ducts, and license fees (and annual renewal) is hefty at over US$ 2000,” said Sabita Karapan, Programme Technical Officer (Tobacco Control) for Asia Pacific region at Vital Strategies and long-standing to- bacco control and public health advocate. Fines for violation of tobacco control laws in Singapore are heftier.
Apart from domestic laws, Singapore also ratified the legally binding corporate accountability and public health treaty - global tobacco treaty in May 2004. This treaty is formally called as World Health Organization Framework Con- vention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) in May 2004 and its Conference of the Parties is next month in Geneva.
Because of implementation of science- and evi- dence-based tobacco control laws in Singapore, deadly tobacco smoking has almost halved over the years (from 13.7% in 2007 to 8.8% in 2023, said Sabita.
Singapore has enforced a whole battery of science – and evidence-based tobacco control laws stringently. For example, there are very widespread smokefree areas, taxes on tobacco products are high (67.5%), tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship is banned, standardised packaging is enforced, and nico- tine and tobacco industry’s so-called 'new' deadly products (such as e-cigarettes, vapes etc) are also banned. According to the WHO there is no safe level of tobacco use. Singapore has also banned point-of-sale display of tobacco products. Current minimum legal age for smoking has been increased in 2021 to 21 years.
Singapore’s Health Sciences Authority enforces the laws regarding licensing of tobacco retailers, importers and wholesalers.
(To be contd)