Centre urged to stub out smoker-friendly rules soon

Hyderabad: The doctors, cancer victims and hotel associations on Tuesday urged the Union government to remove the designated smoking rooms at hotels/restaurants and airports to protect people from second-hand smoke. Appreciating the Centrefor initiating the process to amend COTPA 2003, they appealed for immediate removal of current provision that permits smoking areas to make India 100 percent smoke free and check the spread of Covid-19 infection in India.

"Smoking worsens lung function and reduces immunity. All designated smoking areas in hotels and restaurants and even airports should be abolished to ensure a 100% smoke free environment.Most of these designated smoking areas are rarely compliant as per COTPA requirements and are actually putting our public at great health risk from exposure to secondhand smoke"- Dr Harit Chaturvedi, Chairman of Max Institute of Cancer Care. "As cigarette smoke seeps from smoking areas to common areas, COTPA act needs to be amended, to not permit smoking in any premises. All places should be completely smoke free in the best interest of the public health," said Nalini Satyanarayan, a passive smoking victim and health activist.

"We are finding that families prefer to stay in hotels which do not allow smoking. We are happy that the Government is strengthening the COTPA provisions to make hospitality sector completely smoke free. We support the Government in its initiativefor safeguarding people's health," said Dr GP Sharma, President, Hospitality Association of Uttar Pradesh. A recent survey conducted in India revealed that 72 per cent believe second-hand smoke was a serious health hazard and 88 per cent people strongly support strengthening of the current tobacco control law to address this menace.