Tobacco fails to inspire

None of Nepal’s local governments is seen to be serious about controlling and regulating the consumption of tobacco products, according to a story in The Kathmandu Post.

While the Tobacco Products (Control and Regulatory) Act, 2011, made it mandatory for local governments to submit to the Ministry of Health and Population annual reports on measures taken to control and regulate tobacco products, none of them had submitted a report.

And the Ministry said that because local governments had not been submitting reports, it was facing difficulties in preparing a national strategy for tobacco control.

“Not a single local government has submitted its annual report to the ministry,” said Pushkar Raj Nepal, under-secretary at the legal section of the ministry. “This makes it difficult for us to find whether they are performing their responsibilities as per the act or not.”

The Act prohibits smoking in educational institutions, libraries, training and health-related institutions, cinema halls, cultural centers, theatres, religious places, child welfare homes, hermitages for senior citizens, parks and other public places.

It bans also smoking in houses or private vehicles in a way that affects another person.