Bihar Government on 30 May 2012 prohibited the sale and manufacturing
of all the tobacco products for next one year. The decision taken on
the eve of 'World No-Tobacco Day', made Bihar the third state in the
country to ban tobacco products. Earlier Madhya Pradesh and Kerala had
come out with the same decision.
The state government’s move is based on the Food Safety and Standards
Authority of India regulation no 2.3.4 which seeks to ban tobacco or
nicotine products. The regulation was issued by the Union Government of
India on 1 August 2011. People who found violating the order would be
awarded with a punishment ranging from monetary fine of upto 3 lakh
rupees to imprisonment of one year.
Earlier Madhya Pradesh had become the first state to ban all the food
products containing tobacco. The state had issued a notification in
this regard on 7 May 2012.
