The Union Health Minister Dr. Anbumani Ramadoss chose the World No Tobacco Day’ to make an announcement that with effect from 2nd October 2008 nobody would be allowed to smoke in public places. The ban would cover hotels, restaurants, bars, Government Offices and Private Institutions. Given the elaborate nature of this definition, smokers would have to choose either the roads/streets or homes to smoke. Though there is already a ban on smoking in public places, it has not been given adequate teeth because of non-existence of a clear-cut definition as to what constitutes public place. This lacuna has been removed with a clear-cut definition paving the way for implementation of the ban from the scheduled date.
Expressing concerns about the use of tobacco among the school children and women, he said that his dream of tobacco free youth has been consistently thwarted by powerful tobacco lobbyists and quoted a case in example. The stipulation for printing of pictorial warnings has been deferred indefinitely as the Shimla High Court before which a case is pending has not set any fresh date for its implementation.
He has set a target date of 2010 for making Chennai a ‘smoke free city’ and his long term goal is to make the entire country tobacco free.
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