This is an official gazette of the Government of Tamil Nadu, published on Wednesday, August 2, 2023. It contains Legislative Assembly Act No. 22/2023, which amends the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 2003, to apply to the State of Tamil Nadu.
Key changes introduced by the amendment include:
* Defining "hookah parlor" as a place where people gather to smoke tobacco from shared or individually served coconut shell hookahs.
* Prohibiting the operation of hookah parlors in any place, including eateries.
* Empowering police officers (not below the rank of Assistant Inspector) to seize materials used in hookah parlors if there is reason to believe that the prohibition is being violated.
* Stipulating penalties for operating a hookah parlor in violation of the Act, which includes imprisonment for a term not less than one year but extending up to three years, and a fine not less than twenty thousand rupees but extending up to fifty thousand rupees.
The gazette also mentions S. Gopi Ravikumar, Government Secretary (Legislation), Law Department, and Ve. Arasukumar, Director, Law (Tamil Division) Department. It is printed and published by the Director of Stationery and Printing, Chennai, on behalf of the Government of Tamil Nadu.
Key Entities Referenced
The Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 2003: Central law being amended by the Tamil Nadu state government.
Tamil Nadu: The geographical scope of the policy.
Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly: Legislative body that passed the amending law.
Hookah bar: A place that is the primary subject of regulation in the amendment to the Act. Amendment bans running such establishments.