Even though smoking in public places has been banned, it continues unabated in many places. To check this, the Bruhat Bangalore Hotel Owners' Association (BBHOA) along with the Association of Bars and Restaurants will soon have in place ‘no-smoking' zones in city's hotels, bars, pubs and restaurants.
‘Not effective'
Launching the “customer friendly initiative” on World Cancer Day on Saturday, BBHOA president Vasudev Adiga told presspersons that the ban on smoking in public places was not very effective. “Customers of some darshinis and hotels continue to smoke within the premises. They are not just increasing the risk of them developing cancer, but are also putting other customers, hotel owners and staff at risk.”
He said the Cancer Prevention Society had requested the associations to create awareness among customers by putting up boards, besides setting up separate smoking and no-smoking zones.
“This initiative will strengthen the implementation of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA), 2003 guidelines. We also want to create awareness about cancer prevention among the public, besides strengthening smoke-free policies in restaurants,” he said. Ashish Kothari, president of the Association of Bars and Restaurants, said there were separate smoking and no-smoking zones in bars, pubs and restaurants in several countries.
“This initiative will protect not just non-smokers, but also the hotel staff who also are exposed to second-hand smoke,” said Somil Rastogi, consultant to the National Tobacco Control Programme, Department of Health and Family Welfare, Karnataka.
Manoranjan Hegde, District Health Officer of the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), said that such initiatives would help the civic body implement the COTPA rules effectively. He claimed that in January 2012 alone, the BBMP had collected Rs. 70,000 as fine from people found smoking in public places.
