Khader has asked health department officials to discuss the modalities about setting up smoking zones, sources said. "The smoking zone would be more like an isolated chamber and the smoke would be let out into the sky," said a close associate of the minister.
A senior health official said civic agencies had been implementing the ban on smoking in public places under Section 4 of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act. "It's true the rules are yet to be fully implemented. Hence, the idea of setting up smoking zones," he said.
But the health experts don't buy the idea. Voice of Tobacco Victims patron and cancer surgeon Dr U S Vishal Rao said: "The law doesn't permit smoking in public. Setting up of designated smoking areas pertains more to places like hotels and restaurants where there is a provision under the law."
Shravani R, an employee with a private company, said the government's smoking zone proposal carries the potential to undermine the very objective of banning smoking in public places. "The government must find ways to implement the smoking ban in a more meaningful way and create awareness," she said.
As per Section 3(l) of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act, 'public place' means any place to which the public have access, but does not include any open space. Smoking is prohibited in open spaces visited by the public — like open auditoriums, stadiums, railway stations and bus stops. As per the National Tobacco Control Act, a person caught smoking in public must pay a fine of Rs 200.
The Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act allows smoking in hotels with 30 rooms or more, restaurants or pubs with seating capacity for 30 or more persons, and at airports. This comes with riders. Smoking zones must be set up, physically separated and surrounded by full-height walls. Zones should have an entrance with automatically closing doors. They should have a system that lets the smoke go directly outside. The area should not be used for other purposes like serving food, beverage or other services.
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