Police plan to turn Thiruvananthapuram into tobacco-free zone

Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of Kerala, may turn into a tobacco-free zone as police are taking several initiatives, including strict implementations of anti-tobacco laws.

Close on the heels of the Kerala government increasing the tax on cigarettes, the city's police have joined forces with the community police wing of the state police, "Janamaithri" personnel, for strict enforcement of anti-tobacco laws by declaring major institutions and its premises "smoke-free-zones". As part of the move, the Medical College hospital and its premises were declared 'smoke free' areas recently by banning consumption and sale of tobacco products.

City Police Commissioner H Venkitesh said, major state-run firms and their premises would be declared smoke-free zones and a strict vigil would put in place to monitor violations.

"The aim of the project is to declare the capital city tobacco-free. We already have anti-tobacco laws and we are now planning for their stringent enforcement," Venkitesh told PTI. "We are targeting government hospitals, schools and other state-run firms in the initial phase. We hope that we can achieve it by step-by-step banning consumption and sale of illegal tobacco products in selected places by declaring the areas as smoke-free zones," Venkitesh added.​

Kerala had banned the manufacturing, sale and storage of paan masala containing tobacco/nicotine in 2012. "Cases will be registered against all violators, both smokers and vendors who sell tobacco products based on various sections of anti-tobacco laws," Venkitesh said.