Morung Express Feature
Dimapur | May 31
The ban on public smoking notified by the Nagaland government in December 2008 had come with a stern warning that anyone found smoking in specified public places shall be liable for prosecution under the said Act. The order has to some extent reduced public smoking, especially in government offices and hospitals, but not in other “places” as specified in the ban notification. People are still seen daily “lighting up” in public without any concern and most people it seems are not aware of the order. Unlike other states of the country where policemen take the lead in enforcing the ban order, the state is yet to take up such an initiative. The ban, it is believed, can be more firmly enforced if policemen are put to the job. Also the public need to be sensitised more on the order as well as the issue.
One disturbing trend in Dimapur and other parts of the state is the sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products near educational institutions. The ban order clearly states that no tobacco products should be sold within a radius of 100 yards of any school or college. Shops are still found selling the harmful products near such institutions nevertheless.
The notification cited various public places such as hospitals, hotels, workplaces, transport stops, educational institutions, market places, stadiums and so on where the “No Smoking” rule will be strictly enforced. Violation would result in a penalty fine of Rs 200. Besides advertisement of cigarettes and other tobacco products entail imprisonment of up to two years and a fine of Rs 1,000-5,000 or both, and sale of cigarettes and tobacco products within a radius of 100 yards of any educational institution would carry a penalty of Rs 200, the notification further stressed.
