Smoking ban: Poor number backup to show action taken

Three years into the ban on smoking in public places,its all fire and no smoke as far as enforcement is concerned,as numbers would show.

Three years into the ban on smoking in public places,its all fire and no smoke as far as enforcement is concerned,as numbers would show. The District Tobacco Control Society,set up to enforce the rule,has met only once,in January this year. The number of people caught and fined shows that the drive is either does not have enough coverage or people have given up smoking in public places,which is highly unlikely as people are seen openly flouting the ban.

Barely 130 people were fined in Pune from April to September by the Food and Drug Administration,while the number was only six in Mumbai.

FDA claims their office has been taking proactive steps and penalising people but other departments authorised to take action are not that active. We are authorised to levy fines upto Rs 200 and the maximum action we can take is at bus stands and railway stations, says Chandrakant Salunkhe,Assistant Commissioner,FDA.

Smoking at public places is banned under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act,2003,which came into effect on October 2,2008.

The FDA admits it was able to impose fines on only 462 people in the state for smoking at public places and flouting section 4 of COTPA from April to September this year. While Pune division has been able to slap fines on 130 offenders and collect Rs 16,900 as fines,from April to September 19 this year,the Mumbai division has fined a mere six people in the last six months. The number was 12 in Nagpur 126 in Amravati, 76 in Aurangabad and 112 in Nashik division. A total of Rs 50,510 was collected in the same period.

Mahesh Zagade,FDA Commissioner,said the focus was on special drives. However,private initiatives were being welcomed.

Dr T Sahay,Project Director,Tobacco Control Project at Sekhsaria institute of public health,told Newsline,We have set up a district level tobacco control society. However only one meeting has been held so far in Pune,in January this year, says Sunil Mhaske,project coordinator of Sadhana Institute that works with Sekhsaria Institute of Public health in implementing the campaign in Pune. We have trained police and health officials and will now have another meeting at the collectorate to create awareness, Mhaske adds.

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District Collector Vikas Deshmukh said that while FDA has the overall authority to penalise offenders,the collectorate will coordinate activities and carry out anti-tobacco campaigns. Inspectors of central excise,income tax,customs,sales,postmasters and others have been authorised under COTPA to fine people found smoking at public places. We will ensure that the anti-tobacco drive is strengthened by launching awareness campaigns, Deshmukh told Newsline.

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Smoking ban: Poor number backup to show action taken

Three years into the ban on smoking in public places,its all fire and no smoke as far as enforcement is concerned,as numbers would show.

Three years into the ban on smoking in public places,its all fire and no smoke as far as enforcement is concerned,as numbers would show.