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India bans smoking in all public places
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by Sanjay Jha | September 30, 2008 at 10:58 pm
3250 views | 23 Recommendations | 19 comments
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It's bad news for the smokers in India. Government of India has passed a law banning smoking at all the public places from thursday onwards. This is country wide ban and those violating the rule will have to cough up $5.
With a population of around 1.2 bn in India, about 250 million people, mostly men, use tobacco and it is major cause of death.
Smoking will be banned at all public places hotels, restaurants, schools, pubs or discotheques, hospitals, airports and bus stops. However Private homes and alongside roads are among the few places where smoking will be allowed.
Smokers beware! Hotels, restaurants, pubs, offices and even the international airport would be out of bounds to light up the rolled tobacco from tomorrow with the ban on smoking in public places coming into effect.
The ban, the implementation of which is effective from Mahatma Gandhi's birth anniversary, will cover even hookah bars and pubs as well as private offices and public places like bus stops.
Union Health Ministry issued a notification for the ban under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution), Act 2003.
The notification, which was brought out on May 30, was challenged in many high courts by the ITC as well the Hotel Association of India following which the Health Ministry approached the Supreme Court submitting before it to hear all the cases at one time.
Hearing the petition, the apex court yesterday refused to stay the Central government's notification on the ban on smoking in public places from October two.
A Bench, headed by Justice B N Agarwal, while refusing to stay the notification dated May 30, 2008, also transferred four petitions challenging the ban.
The petitioners had alleged that the notification made no distinction between private space and public space and it may create problems.
Though Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss had written letters to Chief Secretaries, Chief Ministers and Governors of all the states, some states like Bihar and Maharashtra have expressed their inability to implement the ban.
Indian government is very proactive in passing law but it has very poor record of implementation and enforcement of laws. And no wonder not everybody is convinced the new law will work. Indians are known for violating all the laid rules like jumping traffic lights, spitting on street and getting people to honor the ban will be an uphill battle.
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Recommendations (23)
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Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (19)
at 23:00 on September 30th, 2008
Sanjay Jha, I like this story. It's good stuff.
at 23:49 on September 30th, 2008
govt is playing dual game. on one side it wants to earn massive profit and on the other side it is talking about smokers' health. if the govt is so sincere about people's health it should ban on export and production in tobacco. shops selling cigarettes, gutkhas should be shut down. if common people would not get availabillity of cigarettes naturally they will be exempted from smoking. Ramadoss must stop playing dual game and act fairly.
at 19:15 on May 9th, 2009
dear
u r absolutly ryt.. our govt. just wana make money.. they r not exactly want to make india a smoke free zone.. they only want to fill there bank a/cs . we people have to take some serious steps against smoking.. i like ur comments...
jai hind
at 00:04 on May 20th, 2009
ya ur ryt but what can we do for stop smoking if any procedure then pls tell me.
at 00:52 on October 1st, 2008
Sanjay Jha, I like this story. It's good stuff.
But i do have serious doubt regrding the success of this new act. India has almost all possible laws to stop antisocial activities.smoking is banned in indian railways but it is very easy to get cig in delhi station itself.
at 02:14 on October 1st, 2008
I do not think its bad news for the smokers in India. Who will check this????? Who will punish them???? And what will be the punishment????
But anyway this is one of the good steps. People have to obey it and support it.
hibru has contributed a photo to this story.
at 03:25 on October 1st, 2008
What is all included in the definition of public places?
at 03:31 on October 1st, 2008
Hi Paschen, Thanks very much for your comment. All public places will include hotels, restaurants, schools, pubs or discotheques, hospitals, airports and bus stops.
at 03:34 on October 1st, 2008
Here in Japan the ban is restricted to some places and they have smoking places in parks and bus stops. Meaning there is a public ban but with designed smoking areas.
at 03:34 on October 1st, 2008
Sanjay Jha, I like this story. It's good stuff.
at 05:04 on October 1st, 2008
Sanjay Jha, I like this story. It's good stuff. The smoking ban in India appears to mirror the UKs - smoking is also banned in all work places by law here too - will that be the case in India?
at 05:11 on October 1st, 2008
Sanjay Jha, I like this story. It's good stuff.
at 07:03 on October 1st, 2008
Sanjay Jha, I like this story. It's good stuff.
Source: my.nowpublic.com
Long live Mother India !!
at 07:21 on October 2nd, 2008
Sanjay Jha, I like this story. It's good stuff. this is very impressive! i hope other countries (such as my own) would follow suit. both india and pakistan also need to impose a ban on their men eating 'paan' - betel leaves - outside their homes.
at 22:14 on October 2nd, 2008
Being a smoker myself, I am looking forward to this rule. have no idea whether it'll last for long or be vanished just like 'liquor-ban' couple of years ago
at 11:23 on October 3rd, 2008
Om Namo Shivaya !!
at 21:42 on November 3rd, 2008
It is relly good to read that govt has banned smoking in public places.As it will not only save the life of the people smoking but will also help the non-smokers from it
Govt should take some more steps 4 it.
at 01:46 on November 7th, 2008
the disission taken by government that baning on ciggaret in public places that a good step towards the health of indian but it should be implemented most responsibility is those who are waching the smoking because they are passive smoker.......
at 23:32 on January 15th, 2009
I read all articles related to this and the ban exits only in books of records and may be not in practice. The employees of a firm do smoke(continously!!!) in their office which is opposite to our office both of which are seperated just by a corridor and polluting our office as such we are subjected to passive smoking. What are the steps for any legal action can we take in this situation where they are smoking in their office. We already displayed no smoking logo and wordings in premises and we requested them to stop. But these steps taken by us were fruitless. Let us know any Govrnment authority can help us in this regard.