Jump to full article: The Times of India, 2010-01-30
Intro: KANPUR: Are norms regarding smoking in public places being complied with? Not if one went by the findings of non-governmental organisations. Their survey report finds that around 50 per cent of bars and restaurants are not complying with smoke-free laws. The survey was conducted in 211 indoor places in 16 cities of 12 states. It was found that smoking was taking place in 127 out of the 211 places covered during the study period.
Level of fine particles in places where smoking was observed was found to be 32 times higher than the World Health Organisation air quality guideline for particulate matter in indoor places.
At a district-level advocacy workshop on tobacco control organised on Saturday in association with district tobacco control cell, Kanpur, and NGOs from Lucknow and New Delhi to generate awareness on health hazards due to passive smoking, the data presented a clear picture on how the norms were being flouted.
Ashish Pandey, one of the members of the NGO from New Delhi, informed that the study demonstrated gross violation of smoke-free laws in India and provided evidence that indoor smoking caused exposure to harmful levels of air pollution.
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