Twenty years after the ban on public smoking in India, as many as 1.4 lakh cases of public smoking are reported in Karnataka every year.
According to the State Tobacco Control Cell (STCC), 24 per cent of adults in Karnataka are exposed to hazardous second-hand smoke in public places.
Though the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA) banned public smoking in India in 2003, Karnataka started enforcing the law effectively only in 2013.
In 2013 the police and health departments together booked only 46,935 cases, but the number crossed 1.4 lakh in 2014. Cases have increased annually since then, reaching a maximum of 1.8 lakh each in 2019 and 2020. The numbers declined in 2021 and 2022, with around 1.4 lakh cases each.
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Prabhakara, Project Manager at STCC, points out that the fine amount of Rs 200 is too low to be a deterrent.
“Under the COTPA, the smoker can be fined up to Rs 200 only. So we are also using the provision to levy cumulative fines on the owner of the premises. For example, five smokers around a shop can be fined Rs 200 each, but the shop owner can be charged Rs 1,000 for all of them.”
He says the decline in cases since 2021 could be due to better enforcement and also increased awareness among people particularly on the link between smoking and Covid.
“Our compliance assessment study done over the past seven years, wherein a third party observes COTPA compliance in around 350 public places, also shows a decline in public smoking,” Prabhakara says.
The sale of tobacco products to minors and also within 100 yards of educational institutions, continue to be a concern. Health department booked 11,004 cases under these sections in 2022-23, and 9,904 cases in 2021-22.