Union health minister Anbumani Ramadoss has announced a nationwide ban on smoking and other forms of tobacco consumption in all government and private offices from October 2. Smoking will also be disallowed in such “public places” as small cafes, restaurants, schools, pubs, discotheques, stadia, airports, hospitals and bus stands. Those caught smoking in these “public places” will be fined Rs 200, and organisations which allow employees to smoke within their premises will in turn have to pay Rs 5,000 per employee caught smoking. Roads and parks are not off-limits for smokers.
Coming on top of his sustained efforts to convince movie stars and other celebrities to not light up in public, and to have a skull and bones signs on cigarette and beedi packs, Dr Ramadoss says the latest move is to “save India’s future”. Between 250-300 million Indians consume tobacco in its various forms. Upto 10 lakh people are said to die every die every year from tobacco-induced diseases and 40% of the health problems of Indians, he says, stem from tobacco consumption.
Questions: Will the smoking ban work? If you are a smoker, will you stub it out, out of concern for yourself and for your colleagues? Or will you risk a fine? Do we have the personnel to police the ban? Are Indian smokers sensitive to the concerns of non-smokers? Is this a circumcision of individual rights in the name of the greater common good when there are far more important things to deal with? Or is the much-maligned Anbumani Ramadoss on to a good thing here?
Photograph: an 80-year-old non-smoker’s lungs, left; and the lungs of a smoker suffering from emphysema, right (courtesy nchypnosis.com)
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churumuri 
We never get to the root cause of the problem. Isn’t it a better idea to ban tobacco products altogether? ITC has made huge foray into non tobacco products-now they can’t they be asked to close their Cigarrate factories?
Now who will implement this ban on smoking? Police? Will some new force be formed to identify those who smoke in public places and collect fine from them?
Like the bangalore police- to curb side effects of alcohol, they should be banning the alcohol sales. Instead they ban musicians from singing in pubs, claiming that will bring down consumption of alcohol…
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when people smoke, it is upto them. but I am quite glad that some thought is being given to second hand smoke. TN has officially banned smoking in public. While it hasnt removed smoking completely, we were able to see a marked difference and it also gives me every right to demand smokers at bus stops turn their cigarettes off. :-)
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THanks for spoiling my day by publishing that extremely disgusting photo..
Not questioning the intent of the article though. Extremely relevant!
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A ban on smoking in public places or where people work in groups is most welcome. But the question here is how effectively will it be implemented. A fine of Rs.200 is a very small amount, in my opinion. For a guy working in a plush IT company in Bangalore, 200 bucks is not much to be worried about. Same holds for organizations who can shell out Rs.5000 without a second thought. Increasing the fine ought to bring better results.
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The law could be said to be a work in progress and a first step. With the passage of time some of the loopholes could be plugged. It might be unfair for some but at least in public places, non smokers would not be subjected to passive smoking.
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For the sake of all of us the smoking ban had better work. this comes from a one time user of tobacco – i have tried it in every form – cigarettes, bidis, cigars, khaini, zarda paan, gutkha, and snuff. Every one of them is vile. The stupidest thing I ever did was to use tobacco. The smartest thing I ever did was to give it up.
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Should make Anbumani Ramadoss in charge of population control too.
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“Are Indian smokers sensitive to the concerns of non-smokers?”
If so, there was no need for a ban.
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@AG
By telling So, u r hurting the Sentiments of the Minorities(Though I agree Just Minorities are not responsible for this;but looking at now-a-days strategy…its mostly them). Anbumani, Congies, Pseudo Secularists/fundamentalists, Mdm Italy and all of her “Jee Hujur’s” , CJI of SC , DMK/PMK, Devegowda and family, U R A, Girish Karnad etc., etc., etc., will be totally against it
:-)
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very disturbing image. thanks.
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Imagine if these pictures were seen on the cigarette packs..
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Look at me, I’m celebrating !
Vegeta is right. Fines in other countries for violating rules are very severe, thats what makes it effective.
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