NEW DELHI, March 8 -- The Centre plans to tighten rules governing the sale of nicotine lozenges, moving them from general store counters to regulated pharmacy shelves to curb easy access among minors and non-smokers.

The move would remove 2mg nicotine lozenges from the exemption under Schedule K of the Drugs Rules, 1945, which currently allows certain nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) products to be sold without a drug sale licence. As a result, retailers would require a formal licence to sell nicotine lozenges, according to two officials and documents reviewed by Mint.

The proposal follows recommendations by the Drugs Technical Advisory Board (DTAB) at a meeting held in February. The board also called for a strict ban on sales to mino...