Bengalureans face ₹1000 fine for smoking in public
Synopsis
A new ₹1000 will replace the earlier Rs 200 fine, for smoking in public places in Karnataka. Cigarette sellers will also be fined if they sell cigarettes within the radius of a tobacco-free zone.
Smoking in buses, trains, government hospitals, offices and other public places used to attract a ₹200 fine under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA) 2003 in Karnataka. Now this fine has been raised to ₹1000.
Strangely, despite the law, smoking in public places has actually increased in Bengaluru and other places, though the law prohibits the same and fines defaulters. It would seem that smokers are not wary of such laws and fines - either because the law is not enforced with strictness or because the fine is too low. Hence a high-level committee, headed by the Additional Chief Secretary, has decided to increase the fine in order to smokers.
Cigarette sellers will also be fined by the police or by health officials or the corporation under Section 4 of the COTPA Act 2003, if they sell cigarettes and other tobacco products within the radius of tobacco-free zone around educational institutes.
Sources say that Karnataka has collected a fines worth ₹5 crore from 2013 to 2016.
“The committee has decided to increase the penalty for violation of rule. The government is considering whether to amend the act or bring it out as a notification under the existing acts. However, soon an official order with this regard will be issued” US Vishal Rao, member of the state committee on tobacco