Feb.18: NEWS FLASH
- Posted by CERC India
- Posted in February
Cigarette shops can’t sell candies and cola
Shops selling tobacco products can no longer sell items such as toffees, candies, chips, biscuits and soft drinks that may attract non-users, particularly children and young adults. The Union Health Ministry has issued this order in a bid to curb tobacco use in the country.
Shops selling tobacco products such as cigarette, bidi, chewable gutkha and khaini must compulsorily register with the municipal authority. The sale of tobacco products to minors must be tracked, the ministry has said. Tobacco initiation age in India is about 16 years. Giving or selling tobacco to a child attracts up to seven years of rigorous imprisonment under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.
Bureau of Indian Standards Act comes into effect
The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) Act came into effect from October 12, 2017 with a provision to bring more services and products, like jewellery, under the mandatory standard regime. As per the new law, the government can bring under compulsory certification goods or services which it considers necessary in public interest, for the protection of human, animal or plant health, safety of the environment, prevention of unfair trade practices or national security.
The new law is expected to help the ease of doing business in the country and also ensure availability of quality products and services. What will particularly benefit consumers is the provision for repair or recall, including product liability of the products bearing the Standard Mark but not conforming to the relevant Indian Standard. The current BIS will be known as National Standards Body of India.
No X-ray screening for disabled at airports
People with disabilities (PWDs) won’t have to face lengthy and humiliating security checks at airports anymore. The Central Industrial Security Force has issued fresh guidelines for passengers who are wheelchair bound or wearing prosthetics. They will no longer be subjected to X-ray screening but will be checked with a hand-held explosive trace detector.
Passengers will not have to take off their prosthetic limbs for security check. PWDs will be asked to go through an X-ray screening only if there is “sufficient doubtâ€. Disability rights activists have hailed the move.
