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Forbidden: Smoking in public in Goa

Okay, folks -- here we go with the next tourist season in Goa. And the good news is, smoking in public is a total no-no.

Rather a strange decision to take, given that tourism-centric places tend to go out of their way to make people feel at home and Goa is as tourism-centric as they come. But in the event, that's how it is.

Also banned, incidentally, is the promotion and advertising of any tobacco product -- which, among other things, is going to put a big crimp in the wheel of those who organise carnivals, dances, Christmas floats and things, given that tobacco companies have in the past proved their most reliable sponsors.

The National Organisation of Tobacco Eradication has played the pivotal role in getting the comprehensive legislation passed -- but it is drawing heavy flak from The Tobacco Institute of India.

The Goa Prohibition of Smoking and Spitting Bill, unanimously passed in course of the recently concluded monsoon session, goes even further, to ban sale of cigarettes to minors as also selling, distributing or even storing cigarettes in close proximity to schools or places of worship.

Further, not displaying 'no smoking zone' boards in public places has been made a cognisable offence.

For purposes of the bill, products such as gul, tobacco paste, pan masala, zarda and gutka qualify as tobacco products.

Obviously, the legislation goes way beyond the one recently implemented in Delhi, where only notices, circulars, wall papers, pamphlets, displays, hoardings and other visible representations of tobacco products are banned. Even in the matter of advertising, the Goan legislation goes further still, to cover stickers, symbols, colours, logos, trade marks, displays on articles of clothing, shoes, caps, bags, telephone booths... the works, in fact.

Interestingly, the bill also covers, in the definition of "public place", practically any space outside the four walls of a home or hotel room. Auditoria, cinema/conference/seminar halls, hospitals, health institutions, amusement centres, restaurants, hotel lounges, other waiting rooms, public offices, court buildings, educational institutions, libraries, bus stands, ferry boats, places of worship, sports stadia and, yes, even beaches become no smoking zones under the aegis of the new bill.

Already, the consensus opinion is that it is going to affect tourist traffic. Hotel and restaurant owners especially are concerned that the draconian edict is going to put off visitors, resulting in losses and even an increase in unemployment figures. Thus, TII director A C Sarkar has already sent off a strong note of protest to the state government, claiming that the provisions of the bill are such that you cannot, in effect, store, sell or smoke cigarettes anywhere in Goa.

Sarkar has pointed out that in Goa, prime market places are almost invariably located near places of worship and/or educational institutions. Exactly, says Dr Sharad Vaidya, NOTE chairman, who for his part is pressing for the speedy implementation of the provisions of the bill, which will ensure the shutting down of 100s of cigarette shops across the state.

Dr Vaidya meanwhile has managed to get powers for recognised NGOs to file complains before the court in cases of violation of the bill -- which means that even if the authorities tend to be lax, the NGOs can take matters into their own hands.

His argument is that the craze for smoking and chewing gutka has spread like wildfire among schoolchildren -- in fact, he says, a recent survey indicates that the most prosperous cigarette and gutka shops are the ones near educational institutions.

Sarkar shares the concern about young children smoking. "But rather than making an impractical legislation which violates the principles of freedom of commercial expression besides denying an individual's right to smoke if he wants to, we will develop a programme to discourage smoking and chewing tobacco among minors," he says.

But that is for the future. For now, what remains is the bill -- effectively ensuring that when you next pack your bags for a vacation in Goa, you might as well leave your Ronson lighter at home.