Smoking in India

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The international non-smoking symbol

Smoking in India is prohibited in public since 2 October 2008 under Prohibition of Smoking in Public Places Rules, 2008 and Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 2003. The nationwide smoke-free law pertains only to public places. Places where smoking is restricted include auditoriums, movie theatres, hospitals, public transport (aircraft, buses, trains, metros, monorails, taxis,) and their related facilities (airports, bus stands/stations, railway stations), restaurants, hotels, bars, pubs, amusement centres, offices (government and private), libraries, courts, post offices, markets, shopping malls, canteens, refreshment rooms, banquet halls, discothèques, coffee houses, educational institutions and parks. Smoking is allowed on roads, inside one's home or vehicle.1 However, Savitha SK, deputy health officer, Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has said that the road is a public place and smoking in public places, including roads, is banned by law.2 Smoking is also permitted in airports, restaurants, bars, pubs, discothèques and some other enclosed workplaces if they provide designated separate smoking areas.1 Anybody violating this law will be charged with a fine of INR200.3 The sale of tobacco products within 100 yards of educational institutions is also prohibited. However, this particular rule is seldom enforced.4

Contents

Law against advertising

The Cable Television Network (Regulation) Amendment Bill, in force since 8 September 2000, completely prohibits cigarette and alcohol advertisements.5

Hookah Law

The nationwide smoking ban did not prohibit consumption of hookah in hookah bars. However, several cities in India have banned consumption of hookah in hookah bars. Police raids usually focus on punishing the owners and operators of hookah bars rather than the customers. Customers are usually fined while owners may face stiff fines and/or jail time. It is still legal to purchase hookahs at shops and consume them at home.

Authorities generally apply Section 144 (Unlawful assembly) of CrPC to stop functioning of hookah bars.6 Governments also use the Cigarette and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition) Act, 2003.

Hookah bars are banned in state of Maharastra. Other regions that have bans are:

City/Region State Date of Ban Remarks
Bangalore Karnataka 29 March 2011 7
- Maharashtra October 20118 Serving hookah is punishable by a fine of INR1200 (US$22).9 The BMC had banned hookah bars in Mumbai on 2 July 2011.10
Jaipur Rajasthan 9 December 2011 11
Ludhiana district Punjab 1 March 2012 12
Gurgaon district Haryana 3 April 2012 13
Faridabad district Haryana 2011
Panchkula district Haryana 30 November 2011 14

Early attempts at a smoking ban

Change Catalyst Creating Smoke Free Cities

In 2007, Chandigarh became the first city in India to become 'smoke-free'. However despite there being some difficulties and apathy by the authorities15 the Smoke-Free Chandigarh16 project has been a success story. Taking a cue from the Chandigarh's success, cities like Shimla also followed the Smoke-Free Chandigarh model to become smoke-free.17 The success of Chandigarh had been widely recognised and the architect of smoke-free Chandigarh Hemant Goswami.18 was also awarded the Global Smoke-Free Partnership Award for the initiative.19

The state of Kerala also had implemented a more relaxed smoke-free ordinance, becoming the first state to do so, although this was not fully enforced until the implementation of the nationwide smoke-free law.

Prevalence

There are approximately 120 million smokers in India. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), India is home to 12% of the world’s smokers. Approximately 900,000 people die every year in India due to smoking as of 2009.

According to a 2002 WHO estimate, 30% of adult males in India smoke. Among adult females, the figure is much lower at between 3-5%.20

According to the study, A Nationally Representative Case-Control Study of Smoking and Death in India, tobacco will be responsible for 1 in 5 of all male deaths and 1 in 20 of all female deaths in the country by 2010. This means approximately 1 million Indians would die annually from smoking by 2010.21

According to the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) conducted by the Mumbai-based International Institute of Population Science (IIPS) in collaboration with the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Jammu and Kashmir is the state with the highest number of cigarette smokers in the country. Approximately, 26.6% of people in the state use tobacco (including smokeless tobacco). More than 2 in 5 adult males and 1 in 5 adult females in the state use tobacco.22 The highest number of beedi smokers are in Uttarakhand.23

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Agencies. "Smoking ban to be enforced from Oct 2: Ramadoss". Express India. Retrieved 2012-08-13. 
  2. ^ "Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike to intensify hookah joint raids". The Times Of India. 7 March 2012. 
  3. ^ "India to declare all places of work as smoke free". Spiritindia.com. 23 July 2007. Retrieved 15 February 2011. 
  4. ^ "The New Indian Express". Expressbuzz.com. Retrieved 2012-08-13. 
  5. ^ "Alcohol in India". Ias.org.uk. 2000-09-08. Retrieved 2013-01-14. 
  6. ^ "Hookah bars banned in Ludhiana district". Hindustan Times. 2012-03-02. Retrieved 2012-08-13. 
  7. ^ "Ban on hookah joints, News - City - Bangalore Mirror,Bangalore Mirror". Bangaloremirror.com. 2011-03-30. Retrieved 2013-05-02. 
  8. ^ "Hookah banned across Maharashtra - Mumbai - DNA". Dnaindia.com. 2011-10-05. Retrieved 2012-08-13. 
  9. ^ "Home minister warns of a ban on hookah parlours". Hindustan Times. 2012-04-03. Retrieved 2012-08-13. 
  10. ^ "Bar owners move HC on hookah ban". Hindustan Times. 2011-07-29. Retrieved 2012-08-13. 
  11. ^ "'Hookah bars' banned in Jaipur, IBN Live News". Ibnlive.in.com. 2011-12-09. Retrieved 2012-08-13. 
  12. ^ "DC orders ban on hookah bars". The Times Of India. 3 March 2012. 
  13. ^ "Hookah bars banned in Gurgaon". Hindustan Times. 2012-04-04. Retrieved 2012-08-13. 
  14. ^ "Hookah bars banned in Panchkula". The Hindu. 2011-12-01. Retrieved 2013-05-02. 
  15. ^ Sarin, Jaideep, "Chandigarh’s ’smoke-free city’ campaign loses steam", Indo-Asian News Service, New Delhi, 13 July 2008
  16. ^ Website, "Smoke Free Chandigarh Website", Burning Brain Society, Chandigarh
  17. ^ The Hindu, IANS, "Shimla to turn smoke-free soon", Chandigarh
  18. ^ The Times of India, "Our Unsung Hero, Kicking the Butt", Chandigarh
  19. ^ World Heart Federation, "Global Smoke Free Partnership", Chandigarh
  20. ^ "D 1.3 Adult Smokers". China-europe-usa.com. Retrieved 2013-05-02. 
  21. ^ Seema Singh (2008-02-14). "‘1 mn Indian smokers will die every year’". Livemint. Retrieved 2013-05-02. 
  22. ^ Shujaat Bukhari (2011-09-24). "J&K tops States in number of smokers". The Hindu. Retrieved 2013-05-02. 
  23. ^ "‘Kashmir has the highest number of smokers in India’". Free Press Kashmir. 2012-07-21. Retrieved 2013-05-02. 

External links

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