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| Ban on smoking: it’s smoke everywhere, ban (almost) nowhere | | | SALMAN NIZAMI
JAMMU MAY 30: It is been almost seven months since the ban on smoking is in place and the campaign is picking up fast to make it effective but the smokers still continue to have field day.
The ban on smoking had come into force on October 2 last year with the objective to discourage smoking and to protect smokers from the harmful effects of smoking. Legislation was first passed in 2003, but it took more than four or more years to work out guidelines before it could be implemented. The then Union Heath Minister Anbumani Ramadoss left no stone unturned for implementing the law rigorously across the country including the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Now the new Union Minister for Health and family welfare Ghulam Nabi Azad belongs to the state of Jammu and Kashmir will also take the lead in implementing the law along with several other laws formed by the ministry of health time to time.
If we go by the health of state the ban on smoking stands no where as a number of smokers could be seen every where in their usual manner, enjoying their cigarettes at public places with impunity. It is a lamentable fact that people on public places were exhaling smoke without any fear. If we talk about railway station and bus stand, the majority of people, there have an indifferent attitude towards the smoking act ‘ No body can do anything, smoking is my right,” said Vishal Sharma a shopkeeper at Jammu railway station, when you walk into tea stalls at Kachi chawni, Panjtirthi, Gandhi Nagar, Nanak Nagar in Jammu where it seems the law is mere eye wash as dozens of youth including students are seen smoking .
Similar is the situation in Government Hospital Gandhi Nagar where the attendants and visitors puff cigarettes with liberty in the corridors of the hospital. The vendor sells cigarettes at the entrance of the hospital. When Early Times team visited the Hospital at Gandhi Nagar last evening, there were many patients and attendants who could be seen openly taking puffs in the premises as well as in the corridors of the hospital with out any hesitation. There are many cigarette butts lying scattered in the corridors and the premises of the hospital. Similar is the situation in Government Medical College Jammu, where just at the gate there are three vendors selling cigarette
A smoker in GMC Hospital said that if others are smoking in corridors of hospital, why he should move out of the hospital premises and smoke.
With smoke in the air in these hospitals, the passive smoke also affects the heath of the patients who are always on the move inside the hospital premises. If the experts opinion is believed they are pointing out the passive smoking leads to lung cancer, bronchitis, heart disease, and asthama, “You can see there are a large number of people who detected for lung cancers every year, with smoking being one of the key factors responsible for the same,” said a doctor in GMC hospital. “The attendants and visitors must realize the blunder they are committing,” added the doctor.
The administrative officers of both the hospitals speaking to Early Times said that hundreds of times, they have asked the attendants and people that they should not smoke with in the hospital premises not to talk corridors, but still people do it. “We have been placed boards at many places in the hospital saying that smoking is strictly prohibited, however no one is paying any heed” the officer said.
Apparently, no laws have been framed yet to take stringent action against the smokers in hospitals, leave alone other public places, despite such brazen violations. Infact,there is no proper circulation of notifications at these places . Immense need of the hour is to enforce the law for the larger interest of common masses. Government seems to be non- serious in enforcing the anti smoking laws across the state. One fails to understand that as to why these laws are being made when they are not enforced in a proper way.
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