IGTC advocates for prohibition of Designated Smoking Areas (DSAs)

Move to safeguard individuals from detrimental impacts of passive smoking

Ban on DSAs aligns with WHO's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control

The idea behind designated smoking areas (DSAs), as per the Institute for Global Tobacco Control (IGTC), was to ensure a completely smoke-free environment.

However, the institute emphasized that these areas fall short of this goal, as secondhand smoke contains a staggering 7,000 chemicals, some of which are known to cause cancer.

Prioritizing public health, IGTC advocates for the prohibition of Designated Smoking Areas (DSAs) in order to safeguard individuals from the detrimental impacts of passive smoking. Notably, the Bengaluru city police have intensified their crackdown on DSAs, responding to numerous complaints about non-compliance with norms outlined in the Cigarette and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA), resulting in several legal cases being filed.

Sejal Saraf, Senior Research Program Coordinator, Institute for Global Tobacco Control, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, as told to New Indian Express, insisted that DSAs should be eliminated making way for a 100 per cent smoke-free environment.

A ban on DSAs aligns with the principles of the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), which calls on countries to take measures to protect people from tobacco smoke. Many countries worldwide have already recognized the importance of prohibiting smoking in designated areas to safeguard public health, and India should follow suit, she further told the publication.