Union home secretary asks DGPs to enforce smoking ban in all states

Hyderabad: To ensure that there is no smoking in public places or consumption of gutka, home secretary Anil Goswami has asked the director generals of police in all states to effectively enforce the ban and also submit a monthly review.

This comes as a major boost to the health authorities and also the enforcing agencies who are having a very tough time in implementing the Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution Act (Cotpa) 2003.

Although the Act has been in place since the last 11 years, implementation has been very sketchy or nil as the police force has not been able to give the required time.

Now with the order, oncologists who are fighting for a ban on tobacco feel that there is some hope.
Dr Pankaj Chaturvedi, oncologist at Tata Memorial Hospital who has been fighting for the effective ban on tobacco, said, “As the police has to submit reports in the monthly review meetings, some actions have to be planned. It will be part of their agenda and they will have to take out time. In this way, fear will be created and smoking can be controlled.”

Research has shown that the number of smokers had gone up significantly in Asian countries with India showing a figure of 110 million in 2012.

These numbers and the increasing cases of oral cancers, mouth and throat tumors, especially among young people, have forced doctors to ask the government to implement the Act in its true spirit.

While Andhra Pradesh has effectively banned gutkha, the indirect channel through which it comes into the state still poses a problem.
But open sales in paan stalls, kirana shops and other places has been completely stopped.

Additional health director Dr Geeta Prasadini said, “We had a meeting of 17 departments and are looking at aspects from commercial, enforcement and also law and order points of view. The problem is that there has been less staff and once the bifurcation issues of the state are sorted out we have to first ensure recruitments to implement the order.”

Meanwhile, Guntur is the only district in Andhra Pradesh where the police has co-operated with the health officers and food inspectors and ensured that the Act was implemented.

It is the only district from where maximum revenue is generated in terms of fines for smoking in public places.
More than Rs 21 lakh has been collected as fine from more than 36,000 offenders in 2012. In 2013, Rs 11 lakh was collected as fine. The programme was started by the cops where they educated the people not to smoke for the sake of their family members.

They took up various issues like public smoking and drinking that cause inconvenience to the public, especially women.

Apart from participation of cops, the local people were sensitised and asked to complain to the police. The paan shops near schools and colleges were demolished and bus conductors were told to ensure that passengers don’t smoke.

The success has been immense, so much so that Guntur is quoted as a model by health officers each time they have to implement it in other districts.