By the end of May smokers are going to find it difficult to find a safe place to smoke. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is finalising the new rules for restricting smoking in public places and proposes to publicise the same before No Tobacco Day on May 31.

After the new rules comes into force, smokers will have only “three exceptional places to smoke”—hotels, 30-seater restaurants and airports. However, these places will also need to have designated, enclosed smoking areas. As a first step, all healthcare facilities, public buildings and transport vehicles, private workplaces, restaurants and bars would be made no-cigarette zones.

In fact, smoking at home will also become a crime. If one wishes to, he/she will have to take permission from the others there — this also includes the domestic help. “Union health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss is very keen to come out with the new “stringent” rules before May 31. The whole idea is to make it difficult for the people to smoke and make the life of passive smokers a little bit easy,” said a senior official in the ministry.

Officials said there was a need to strictly enforce the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 2003 as more people were reportedly taking up smoking.

The ministry has also asked the states to empower more people to enforce the new rules. “So far, smokers got away lightly, but with more people enforcing the rules, they will be left with no option but to quit,” said the official. The ministry has asked the state Government to empower restauranteurs, hoteliers, conductors and teachers to fine the violaters.

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