Decentralisation of the compliance of anti-tobacco law in India: The case of higher educational institutions in New Delhi, India

This paper studies the decentralised compliance responsibility of India’s tobacco control legislation that the government has outsourced to higher educational institutions through an example of New Delhi. 36 higher educational institutions, including universities, are selected and studied through a unique methodology using India’s transparency law, i.e., the Right to Information Act 2005. The study looks into the three most important parameters of decentralised compliance. Two of these require the installation of signboards by educational institutions, and the third involves imposing and collecting fines against persons found smoking within the educational institutions. Regarding the boards, the first board is about the warning prohibiting the sale within 100 yards of educational institutions, and the second one prohibits smoking in educational institutions. The study also asks the educational institutions whether there is a presence of cigarette and tobacco product vendors within 100 yards of the institution, where the sale of such products has been banned by law. The study also found educational activities to create awareness in the institutions for tobacco control and cessation. The results show that the intent to decentralise the compliance of the tobacco control law in New Delhi has not been universally successful and requires much effort.t for its on-ground penetration. Such studies have a policy impact as they serve as an example for the generalisability of such statutes, which only work when there is implementation from the bottom-up and when the deterrent is also strong with incentivisation to the educational institutions to implement tobacco control with vigour.