Gandhi gives ban a measure of success

With most offices and pubs closed for Gandhi Jayanti, few light up in 'public places'

NEW DELHI: India on Thursday joined a growing number of nations in imposing a total ban on smoking in public but there were doubts about how effectively the diktat could be imposed.

Smoking was already banned in government offices, hospitals, airports and aircraft, railway stations and trains. And the ban has now been extended to offices, theatres, restaurants, malls, shopping complexes, parks and recreational areas - in short, any place where groups of people gather. Thus, effective Thursday, one can smoke in peace only at home or in a specially designated area in a restaurant or pub.

According to health minister Anbumani Ramadoss, the people have “overwhelmingly responded” to the ban. It is estimated that some 900,000 Indians die annually of tobacco-related diseases.

In fact, smoking in public places is already banned throughout Kerala while Chandigarh has just celebrated the first anniversary of being declared a “smokeless” city and the health ministry directive will only serve to reinforce the measure.

However, more than one official across the country was unsure about the manner in which the ban would be imposed  because the government notification had not been received, Thursday being a public holiday on account of Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary.

And courtesy the public holiday, the ban was a big success in most places. In Kolkata, most public and private sector offices remained closed, as were bars and pubs.

Anindya, the manager of Oasis, a popular bar-cum-restaurant in central Kolkata, said the place had only a few visitors on Thursday, attributing the dip to the ban.

In the national capital, enforcers of the ban were nowhere to be seen because it was a holiday. Tobacco control officer of the Delhi government RP Vashisht said Delhi had been implementing the anti-smoking rules since 1997 and the new rules were a welcome step.

In IT capital Bangalore, typified hundreds of small pubs opened for business Thursday fearing moderate revenue losses as the ban came into effect. “I fear many of my regular customers may not drop in for a sip and may not like to huddle in a corner to smoke,” said A Ashwin, who owns a bar on Kempegowda Road in Bangalore’s central business district. Police said it will take some days to ensure the ban is effective in pubs and restaurants.

In Mumbai, celebrities like Shah Rukh Khan and Saif Ali Khan may have joined others in welcoming the ban, but common citizens were taking it in their stride. Prasad Narayan Padala, a taxi driver, claimed things will not change despite the ban. “I smoked over six cigarettes in a hotel today and even on the roads since morning, no one stopped me,” he said, adding, “If public places are out of bounds, where should one go to smoke then?” Pan stall owner Maithili Sharan Gupta, a smoker himself, said cigarette sales were not affected on Thursday. “Depending on how strictly the ban is implemented, sales may go down or continue to be stable in future,” he said. Gupta too had not received any intimation from the authorities. Prakash Rathod, a labourer who smokes bidis regularly said, “I am not aware of the ban or what a public place is.” Rathod added he would probably quit smoking as he could not afford to lose Rs200, the fine levied on those who flout the ban. “I earn far less everyday,” he explained. “This will not deter chain smokers. It might only serve to increase the ‘hafta’ the police collects every day,” he feared.

In towns like Ludhiana and Amritsar in Punjab and at some places in Haryana, the authorities did not appear to be geared up to enforce the ban. A similar situation prevailed in Lucknow, Raipur, Bhopal, Tripura and Bhubaneswar.

In Ahmedabad, people were smoking as usual in ‘public places’. Kaushik Patel, a pan shop owner at Prahladnagar, said: “We have not received any circular from Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation. We came to know about the ban through newspapers.” General manager of Wide Angle multiplex, Neeraj Ahuja, told DNA:

“We don’t allow staff members to smoke within the premises. Our multiplex doesn’t have a smoking zone as we don’t promote smoking.” However, he said he was yet to receive any circular regarding the ban from the authorities.

Deepa Suryanarayan (Mumbai), Sumanta Ray Chaudhuri (Kolkata), Kuldeep Tiwari & Nikunj Soni  (Ahmedabad) with Agencies