Sat Feb 22 07:48:49 UTC 2025: **Mysuru Anti-Tobacco Forum Condemns Central Government’s Tobacco Penalty Waiver**
**Mysuru, February 22, 2025** – The Anti-Tobacco Forum (ATF) in Mysuru has strongly criticized the central government’s recent decision to waive penalties for excess and illegally cultivated tobacco in Karnataka. The Ministry of Commerce and Industry’s February 17th notification relaxes restrictions imposed by the Tobacco Board Act of 1975, allowing registered and unregistered growers to sell excess flue-cured Virginia tobacco at authorized auction platforms.
ATF convenor Vasanthkumar Mysoremath expressed deep concern over the implications for public health. He pointed out that while penalties previously existed for farmers cultivating excess or illegal tobacco, the new policy removes these restrictions entirely. This, he argued, will encourage more farmers to cultivate tobacco, even at the expense of food crops, jeopardizing food security.
Mysoremath questioned the government’s claim that the relaxation is in the “public interest,” citing the high death toll from tobacco-related diseases. He accused the government of appeasing tobacco growers and political interests, potentially at the cost of public health. The ATF highlighted the irony of India’s ban on e-cigarettes while simultaneously relaxing regulations on traditional tobacco cultivation, contradicting its commitment to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC).
The ATF is calling for the immediate withdrawal of the penalty waiver, urging stricter regulations to reduce tobacco cultivation and a ban on excess and illegally grown tobacco in auctions. They also advocate for ending government subsidies to tobacco farmers and the dissolution of the Tobacco Board, citing its failure to reduce tobacco supply.
First Piper 