The Public Health Inspectors’ (PHI) Union of Sri Lanka has announced that it will take legal action against those who sell smokeless tobacco leaves together with betel quids, in a bid to curb oral cancer.
Acting President of the PHI Union, Upul Rohana, told reporters that the law would be enforced under the National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol Act, No. 27 of 2006. He noted that under the First Schedule of a gazette notification issued in September 2016, the sale of smokeless tobacco leaves is completely prohibited in Sri Lanka.
Rohana said the aim was not to inconvenience betel-quid vendors but to protect the public from oral cancer. According to the Union, between 1,750 and 1,900 cases of oral cancer are reported in Sri Lanka each year, and stricter enforcement is intended to help reduce that toll.
Under the Act, those convicted before a Magistrate’s Court of selling prohibited smokeless tobacco face a fine of Rs. 2,000, imprisonment of up to six months, or both. Rohana acknowledged that, because of long-standing cultural practices around betel chewing, the law had not been strictly enforced in the past, with authorities focusing instead on public awareness campaigns.
The announcement comes amid repeated warnings from health professionals over the scale of oral cancer in the country, which is among the most common cancers affecting Sri Lankan men.
