[Jaggu]

Hope it doesnt turn into another quick buck thingie for the cops lol, i welcome the idea but in India as usual it is extreme attention and at the end will have a slow death.

Having 10 foot wall, with automatic door closing, with exhaust fan, for smokers area! crazy or what!

Logical plan would be to allow smoke in an open dedicated area, where non smokers are not troubled. I dont think anybody would have major objection in walking out and lighting a ciggie and coming back.

I think ill light that ciggie and go for a walk, some exercise in the name of smoking

[DKG]

Originally Posted by moralfibre

Charge a packet of cigarettes Rs. 500/- for 10's. Tax the damn thing. Do you think ITC will let that happen?

Gutkha, chewing tobacco, pan masala, etc should be charged Rs. 500/- per packet as well. Although impractical, that is the only way to make people kick the habit.

I don't think it would work. On the contrary the large companies would shut down in no time and the market would be flooded with cheap unregulated cottage industry products which the government would find impossible to control and would end up doing more damage.

The anti smoking legislation is designed to choke the market itself. Make it impossible for people to consume freely. That ends up inhibiting consumption automatically

[Zappo]

There are a lot many questions that are puzzling to say the least. Government (read Ramadoss) has laid down such a stringent requirement for the smokers' area that I believe these will be impractical concepts (walls, exhausts fans, self closing doors...).

In the end there will be no smokers' area in most places and people won't be able to smoke in any open place. This is a blanket ban on smoking, albeit in a twisted-sarkari way. They do these kind of things a lot while tendering to ensure a very particular outcome. Now its in play here.

What happens to all those millions of Panwaadis we see on the busy roads of most big cities? They mostly thrive on selling paan and loose ciggies. Most people who buy loose ciggies do so as a spur-of-the-moment act and light up from the burner kept there or else an electric lighter hanging on the wall nearby. Now that will not be possible anymore. Basically panwaadis will be forced to stop selling loose ciggies (either directly by the law or else as a result of the implementation of the law).

Is all this sounding like a very feasible way to take? I do not know... But I have a suspicion that this will basically mean that the local enforcement authorities will now most probably have another hefty amount every week to line their pockets. Things will remain the same.

[FATAL3RROR]

This article was printed in today's Telegraph:
The Telegraph - Calcutta (Kolkata) | Metro | Puja ‘gift’ for smokers

Explains why the ban will probably not be practical right away.

@MF: 500 INR a pack?! you 'll be the first one to go bankrupt! or do u plan to hoard WINS?

[vinit.merchant]

Originally Posted by ramie2400

When will "SPITING" be banned??i am waiting for that day.

"Thuk Thuk ke desh ko Laal kar diya hai"

Well, Only when the Mamu's & Babu's quit their habit of Spitting anywhere they want .
but the Helmet rule was so fiercely implemented here in Pune some years back and people without Helmet were caught and made to pay the fine'bribe. But it was these lawenforcers (Mamu's & Babu's) who weren't following the same rule for which they fined others.

Hope this time around they do not smoke in public areas while penalising others.

[vasudeva]

Workplace restrictions cut smoking and force some smokers to quit. This has been acknowledged by tobacco industry itself as a famous Philip Morris document of 1992 points out:

http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/resea...s/pdf/0196.pdf

The smoking gun (actual document )is here:

IMPACT OF WORKPLACE RESTRICTIONS ON CONS... (rvv24e00)

[Sudipto-S-Team]

There is an element of hypocrisy in the whole thing. While the government wants to pocket the huge excise collection from tobacco, it wants to show that it is taking steps to curb smoking!! If they are serious then they should ban the cultivation of tobacco and close down all tobacco manufacturing activities. But no. They want the tax.
This latest law is nothing but the government's way of pleasing WHO, which in turn extends its financial support only if such hypocritical laws are enacted.
I don't think any politician is very serious about my health or that of the nation. Politicians have zero credibility. They just want the cheap loans and grants from international bodies and would implement such rules to please them. It's much like the helmet rules on the streets of Calcutta. The police does nothing to save motorcyclists' lives but insists on helmets. Hypocrisy.
By the way - I am an ex-smoker. Turned 40 cigarettes a day habit to zero overnight. And I have smoked for about 30 years. I know what it takes to quit and to stay quit.

[vasudeva]

I have also quit for the past 2 years from 10-12 cigarettes previously. Nearly 90% of smokers know the dangers of smoking but cannot quit (tobacco is perhaps the most addictive substance, even more than heroin). Doubt it? Check Benowitz and Henningfield's landmark study.

People not in favour? Check GYTS for world and for India, where more than 70% of youth are in favour of smoking ban in public places.

[moralfibre]

Article from the Times:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/D...of India Delhi

[safari_lover]

What happens the road side Tea stall. Are they No Smoking zones too?
Most of these stalls are on roads, they are not enclosed. So that effectively means smoking on the road which does not attract the penalty or does it?

[Mayavi]

There is an element of hypocrisy in the whole thing. While the government wants to pocket the huge excise collection from tobacco, it wants to show that it is taking steps to curb smoking!!

I Firmly believe that if there is substance in my post it will be noticed and I do not have to use BOLD letters to attract attention, but in this case I will break my own rule to post in bold because this has to be read by everyone.

1. This rule is not intended to ban smoking even though it appears to be marketed like that. Everyone in this country has rights. Smokers have right to smoke and non-smokers have right to not smoke. But the nature of smoke is such that it spreads every where and will be inhaled by non-smokers.

2. READ THE LAW VERY CAREFULLY. Smoking is banned only indoors or in areas where there air circulation is not there.

3. Smoking is not banned in open areas because non-smokers have the choice of walking away from smokers. So you can smoke all you want in front of a road side tea stall.

4. Finally, do you like to travel in a sub-compact car with 5 people in it and AC turned on/windows rolled up and one of the passengers is farting non stop? Smoking in a closed space is the same.

[abhinav.gupta88]

From an article in Mid Day Delhi - 1st October

Places where you CANNOT Smoke :

1. Anywhere inside office ( Terrace , Foyers(?) , Parking Lots and stairwells
2. Public Transport like Metro , Taxi , Bus , Train , Auto-rickshaws
3. Inside Malls , Shops , Markets
4. Airports , Railway Stations , Bus Terminals
5. PUBS , BARS , DISCOS ( What the hell !)
   
6. Banquet Halls , Cinema Halls , Restaurant , Amusement Centre, Open Auditoriums and Stadia.

Places where you CAN Smoke

1. Inside your home , Housing complex , terrace of your housing complex , parks and lawns in your housing complex
2. On Streets ( someone please explain ), Municipal Parks , Gardens, Open Parking Lots, in private vehicles ( if not driving)
3. Designated Area in hotels with over 30 rooms and restaurants (hotels) with over 30 seating capacity

[Mayavi]

Originally Posted by abhinav.gupta88

1. PUBS , BARS , DISCOS ( What the hell !)

The owners of Pubs, Bars and Discos can be designate them as 100% smoke zones and put up a board to that effect and you can smoke your way to glory. Outside India where similar laws are in effect, smoking is banned even in Pubs and Bars.

[Sudipto-S-Team]

A similar ban in Geneva has been struck down by a Swiss court. The court ruling came in spite of an overwhelming 80 per cent people voting in favour of the ban earlier.
Read it here
Swiss high court strikes down Geneva smoking ban | Health | Reuters

Sudipto

[CtrlAltDel]

Originally Posted by Mayavi

Outside India where similar laws are in effect, smoking is banned even in Pubs and Bars.

thats what i stress on to skeptics here. but the educated illiterates we have in india seem to think otherwise.