Compliance with COTPA (Packaging and Labeling) Rules, 2008 and its amendments in smokeless tobacco products sold across Mangaluru taluk, Karnataka, India

Abstract

India introduced the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA) (Packaging and Labeling [P and L]) Rules in 2008. These rules utilize the tobacco package to communicate tobacco‑caused harms; it also seeks to restrict the delivery of misleading information about the product on the pack. The enormous burden of tobacco‑related oral cancers in India necessitates the compliance with the law regarding presentation of information in powerful and salient ways, intentionally designed to increase the awareness in target individuals. The objectives of the study are to assess the compliance to implementation and enforcement of the COTPA (P and L) Rules, 2008 and its amendments in 2014 and 2018.