Direction to ban parceling hot food in plastic covers and newspapers at hotels
Mangaluru, March 12, 2026: Additional Deputy Commissioner Raju K has directed officials to take immediate steps to prohibit the use of plastic covers and newspapers for packing hot food items in hotels, canteens and cafés.
Chairing the district-level coordination committee meeting under the National Tobacco Control Programme at the Deputy Commissioner’s office, he said harmful chemicals present in plastic can mix with hot food and lead to serious health risks, including cancer.
Raju K noted that hot food parcels from hotels and canteens are frequently carried by workers or taken to patients in hospitals. In this context, he instructed officials to strictly enforce a ban on the use of plastic covers and newspapers for packing hot food items.
The Additional Deputy Commissioner also issued strict directions for enforcing tobacco control regulations. Smoking and tobacco consumption in public places are prohibited, and establishments that fail to display warning boards will face penalties. Shops, hotels and other public places that keep cigarette lighters or matchboxes to facilitate smoking should also be fined, he said.
He further warned that penalties must be imposed for promoting tobacco products through advertisement boards carrying tobacco brand names or for any other form of promotion. Selling tobacco products to persons below 21 years of age or displaying cigarettes and tobacco products openly in retail shops will also attract fines.
Raju K instructed heads of schools and colleges to monitor shops selling tobacco within 100 metres of their campuses. Lists of such outlets must be submitted to the respective local bodies and police stations. Effective coordination between the police department, education department and local bodies would help control tobacco sale and consumption in the district, he said.
Educational institutions must mandatorily display boards stating that sale of tobacco within 100 metres is prohibited and take steps to prevent the use of tobacco products among students. Officials were also directed to take action against advertisement boards related to tobacco products found across the district in violation of tobacco control laws.
The ADC said awareness programmes should be conducted among vulnerable groups such as autorickshaw drivers, construction workers and sanitation workers, who are often exposed to the dangers of tobacco use.
Officials informed the meeting that smoking in public places or spitting after chewing gutka can attract fines of up to ₹1,000. The sale of loose cigarettes in shops is also prohibited, and violators will face penalties.
As part of COTPA (Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act) enforcement drives in the district, a total of 2,587 cases have been registered and ₹3.89 lakh collected as fines. Around 52 tobacco-related advertisement boards have been removed so far. Penalties will also be imposed if health warning images on tobacco product packs cover less than 85 per cent of the package or if outdated warning images are used, officials from the District Tobacco Control Cell informed the meeting.
District Health Officer Dr Thimmayya, District Surveillance Officer Dr Naveenchandra Kulal, Taluk Health Officer Dr Sujay, and staff of the District Tobacco Control Cell were present at the meeting.
