Andhra Pradesh - Visakhapatnam

Smokers in for big trouble

VISAKHAPATNAM: ‘Saradaa saradaa cigarettu idi doral thagu bhal cigarettu…..pattupatti oka dammulaagithe swargaaniki idi tholimettu’, remember the song from the super hit Telugu movie ‘Raamudu-Bheemudu? This roughly means a puff of smoke of your favourite brand cigarette would take you to cloud nine. The author of these lyrics also compared ‘cigarette and coffee as twins’. Poets of the stature had recognized cigarette smoking with masculinity while writing ‘poetry with fun and pun’.

However, smokers have to be careful while smoking in public areas from Thursday when the provisions of the Cigarette and Other Tobacco Products Act and the Prohibition of Smoking in Public Places Rules, 2008, will come into force.

Officials concerned are taking special measures to enforce the provisions of COTP. Interestingly, the number of public places where smoking will be prohibited and punishable, are more as compared to the places where one could have a puff with no fear of being caught. The list of public places is long and by definition includes public offices, court buildings, educational institutions, libraries, hospital buildings, public conveyances, railway waiting room, railway station, bus stops, restaurants (including refreshment rooms, banquet halls, discotheques, canteens, coffee houses, pubs, bars, airport lounge), cinema halls, amusement centres, open auditorium, stadium and other places, which are visited by general public.

Officials of police, revenue, transport, municipal administration, higher education and a host of others are empowered to book cases against violators of the provision and make them shell down penalty amount. So, besides a number of health hazards, smokers can face the more risk of being caught and fined. The COTP Act was enacted in 2003 and challans for collection of penalty amount from violators were distributed long back. But, so far not even a single case was booked in Visakhapatnam district. This is an indication of the effectiveness of the Act. Will it go the way of Prohibition and Dowry Acts? The answer is anybody’s guess.

Meanwhile, the District Health and Medical Department proposed a rally from the Collectorate on Thursday to educate people about the harmful consequences of smoking. According the DHMO J. Sarojini, a coordination committee with the Joint Collector as its Chairman was constituted to monitor implementation of the the Act. The rally at the Collectorate would be flagged off by the District Revenue Officer tomorrow, she said.

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