Srinagar, Aug. 5 -- By Muhammad Hamza Shah

Before Kashmir talks about winning the battle against addiction, it should start by enforcing one law that already exists.

Tobacco vendors continue to sell cigarettes and other nicotine products within walking distance of schools and colleges, even though the Cigarette and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2003, bars such sales within 100 yards of educational institutions.

That disparity between law and practice has become one of the valley's most visible regulatory failures. And its consequences reach far beyond smoking.

Tobacco damages the body through several routes. Smoking harms almost every organ, while smokeless tobacco raises the likelihood of oral cancers and gum disease. Both forms contai...