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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2009
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India Readies Smoking Ban; Unruly Public Shrugs

Prohibition carries $5 penalty in country with average income of $1K

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(Newser) – India is about to institute a ban on smoking in public places, including bars, restaurants, hotels and hospitals, the Wall Street Journal reports. The ban, which begins Thursday, is being greeted warmly by health officials, with skepticism by smokers on the ground. “Such rules are made and broken every day," one said. “The ban will have no effect on me.”

The Indian public regularly scoffs at laws impinging on their freedom, routinely disobeying traffic signals and urinating in public. The government has attached a $5 fine to the smoking ban, and hopes to raise it to $25. In a country where per-capita income averages $1,000, that could make a difference, but smokers were nonchalant. “I'll smoke at home, particularly in my bathroom,” one said.

Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan smokes at a polo match in New Delhi, India.
Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan smokes at a polo match in New Delhi, India.   (AP Photo)
"Such rules are made and broken every day," one Indian says of the prohibition on smoking to go into effect Thursday. "The ban will have no effect on me."   (AP Photo)
An Indian worker smokes a bidi, a small, cheaply made cigarette, in Bangalore. India is in the grips of a smoking epidemic that is likely to cause nearly a million deaths a year by 2010.
An Indian worker smokes a bidi, a small, cheaply made cigarette, in Bangalore. India is in the grips of a smoking epidemic that is likely to cause nearly a million deaths a year by 2010.   (AP Photo)
An Indian worker smokes in Vadodara, India.
An Indian worker smokes in Vadodara, India.   (AP Photo)
A man smokes a cigarette at a cafeteria in Bangalore.
A man smokes a cigarette at a cafeteria in Bangalore.   (AP Photo)
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I'll smoke at home, particularly in my bathroom. I already know the evils of smoking, but for me smoking is a stress-buster. - Ranjith Nayyar, who won't stop 15-cigarettes-per-day habit

The government has decided to ban smoking, keeping in mind the number of deaths caused every year by tobacco, especially among youngsters. - B.K. Prasad, Indian Health Ministry

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