In less than a month, the much awaited law against smoking at workplaces and public places will come into force and according to a survey commissioned by Healis- Sekhsaria Institue for Public Health, over 96 per cent of people want a smoke-free Mumbai. The new law will come into force from October 2.

However, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has a different take on the issue and feels that the implementation of the law will be highly impractical.

Even though the anti-smoking laws exist in the country, the government has struggled to enforce them. “Problem is that a vast area is to be covered. With the given infrastructure, it is not possible for the BMC’s health department to implement the law,” said Dr Jairaj Thanekar, executive health officer, BMC. If someone is caught smoking, the person would be made to pay a fine of Rs 200 as per the National Tobacco Control Act.

The law does not include parks, beaches and roads as these are open spaces. Even as doctors welcome the regulation, they admit that the quantum of the fine is less. “If one carefully interprets the law, even if the smoker gets away by paying a paltry amount Rs 200 at a hotel, hotel managers have to pay Rs 5,000 for each incident of smoking at the prohibited area of hotel or restaurant,” said Dr Shastri who was one of the key persons in framing the law.

However, Mumbai’s masses, as the survey shows, think otherwise. The survey encompassed smokers and non-smokers and was carried out in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata.

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