Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy took cognizance of the issue and said the court has been witnessing large-scale seizures of ‘Cool Lip’ products and video footage show school students using the product behaving indifferently in classrooms and also engaging in acts of violence

MADURAI: Taking serious note of the fact that school students are getting addicted to the banned tobacco product ‘CooL Lip’, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court said that even as the state government has taken due care to ban such products, they are being manufactured and sold in other states. The court impleaded the authorities of the state and union governments to inquire into the matter in detail.

The court was hearing a bail petition filed by Aunestraja, arrested by the Kadayam police in Tenkasi district on August 25. The petitioner had 27 packets of ‘Cool Lip’. The allegation against the petitioner is that he purchased the product from other states and smuggled it into the state.

The court said that only after a detailed inquiry, the question of granting bail to such inter-state sellers can be determined. Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy took cognizance of the issue and said the court has been witnessing large-scale seizures of ‘Cool Lip’ products and video footage show school students using the product behaving indifferently in classrooms and also engaging in acts of violence.

Repeated incidents were brought to the notice of the court that the students were misbehaving and sitting in dazed conditions in classrooms. The teachers are finding it extremely difficult to handle such situations, and the parents of these students are also unaware of the same.

While tobacco itself is unsafe, such products will act as a gateway for the students to fall prey to other narcotic substances once they become addicted to nicotine, the court observed. Further, the judge stated that despite best efforts by the state police and food safety officials, huge quantities of ‘Cool Lip’ are being smuggled into the state.

Observing that the matter has to be inquired in detail, the court suo motu impleaded the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the secretary of the school education department and the commissioner of Food Safety and Drug Administration as respondents in the case. Considering that the petitioner has been in judicial custody since August 25, the court granted interim bail.