Tobacco products shown with the flagof the Kingdom of Bhutan.
Tobacco Asia’s international correspondent spent some 10 days in 2020 (pre-Covid-19), visiting Himalayan kingdoms and people’s republics in the Mekong delta. In this short article, we examine the Kingdom of Bhutan.
By Dr. Iqbal Lambat – c.e.o. Star Agritech International
Squeezed in between Nepal, Bangladesh, and China, Bhutan was mysteriously linked in the 1970s as a gateway to the Indian cigarette market. Bhutan, a Buddhist kingdom on the Himalayas’ eastern edge, is known for its monasteries, fortresses (or dzongs), and dramatic landscapes that range from subtropical plains to steep mountains and valleys. In the high Himalayas, peaks such as 7,326m Jomolhari are popular trekking destinations. Paro Taktsang monastery (also known as Tiger’s Nest) clings to cliffs above the forested Paro Valley.
Bhutan has a population of slightly less than a million inhabitants. Giving gross national happiness preference over gross domestic product, Bhutan proved that the treasure of happiness is more valuable than any sum of money. And most necessarily, smoking on a very regular basis does not make anyone happy; not even the smoker, whose life always remains in danger. So, smoking is, by law, prohibited in the country as per the Tobacco Control Act of Bhutan 2010. The law, passed in June 2010, prohibits smoking and the use of tobacco in any other form in public areas such as dzongs, chortens, parks, hotels, restaurants, markets, cinema halls etc. Public transports, such as buses, are also under non-smoking zones.
The act not only bans the use of tobacco products but also bans its cultivation, harvesting, and sale in the country.
No one is allowed to produce or sell tobacco products in the country. Imprisonment of three to five years is allotted to anyone who is found using or selling tobacco in public. After the enactment of this law, there were 60 arrests in the country because of the sale or possession of tobacco products in almost a year. The first major arrest was that of a monk named Sonam Tshering in Haa who was found guilty of possessing 480 grams of chewing tobacco. He was imprisoned for three years. Following this, there were many arrests that took place. This led to a pool of controversies and an outrage among the public. So, in January 2011, certain amendments were made to the act.
The amount of permitted tobacco a person can own was increased. Now, people can possess more tobacco products, with less penalty being imposed on them. A person can now own a maximum of 300 cigarettes, 400 beedis, 50 cigars, and 250 grams of other tobacco products in a month at a time. As these cannot be purchased locally, they will be purchased abroad, notably from India. At the time of writing this article, the new president of Bhutan, Lotay Tshering, a medical doctor by profession, has vowed to completely ban tobacco consumption in Bhutan, even in private homes. For such a small country, tobacco has sparked major emotions across its small population.