COTPA amendment will hit millions of women involved in beedi industry, suggests study

Proposed Section 10A(3) makes it mandatory for persons to obtain licences, permissions and registrations for selling and distributing tobacco products

The proposed amendment to the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (COTPA) Act puts the livelihood of millions of women, engaged in the beedi industry. in jeopardy with Section 10A(3) making it mandatory for persons to obtain licences, permissions and registrations for selling and distributing tobacco products.

This amendment, if implemented, will make business tough for small vendors who do not have the competency or financial means to obtain such licences. Beedis are mostly sold by small vendors and hawkers who have a small scale set-up for selling tobacco products.

Most of the sale of beedis take place from micro shops situated under trees and on pavements, which will not be recognised by the municipalities or given licences.

A study by Vibha Vasuki, a human rights lawyer and Dr Siva Prasad Rambhatla, a senior professor of social anthropology titled 'A Study on the Status of Alternate Employment Schemes for Women Beedi Rollers' delves into the impact this COTPA amendment will have on millions of women beedi rollers in the country.

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The report says that until skill-building and alternative employment is provided on a large scale for their livelihood, beedi rolling is the only viable occupation for millions of women across India. The study states that beedis dominate tobacco consumption in India. They are thin, hand-rolled cigarettes that are wrapped in a tendu leaf and filled with tobacco.

About 7.7 per cent of adults in India smoke beedis, which have a market share of 85 per cent of all smoking products in India. Any anti-tobacco legislation largely impacts the beedi industry.

The manufacturing process is highly labour intensive. The over hundred-year-old industry employs workers in mostly the unorganised sector, comprising mainly of home-based women workers from poor households. Ninety-six per cent of the total beedi workers are home-based, while only 4 per cent work in factories. A majority (84 per cent) of home-based workers are women while only 16 per cent are men.

As a member nation signatory to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), the Central government is obligated to promote and provide suitable alternative livelihoods for tobacco workers, including beedi rollers.

Beedi workers are among the most marginalised communities in India. Despite legislation for their welfare, there is little evidence to suggest that much has been put into practice. There has been no allocation of welfare funds for beedi workers since 2017-18, according to reports.

The study claims that since the passing of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COPTA) in 2003, there has been a decline in the beedi industry. Anti-tobacco legislations have made it harder for the beedi industry to survive, causing a direct impact on the livelihood of beedi workers.

This book will be released on Tuesday, December 14, 2021 at India International Centre, New Delhi by Bhupender Yadav, Union Cabinet Minister for Labour and Employment, Environment, Forest and Climate change.

The event will be presided over by Alejandro Simancas Marin, Cuban Ambassador. The Guests of Honour will be Rekha Sharma, Chairperson, National Commission for Women; Ashwani Mahajan, National Convener, Swadeshi Jagaran Manch, and B Surendran, All India Organising Secretary, Bhartiya Mazdoor Sangh.

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