Indicating and reinforcing their strong commitment for public health, the 56,000-plus Kerala Police force has tightened the noose on public smokers.
Figures of police action against public smoking for this July-September quarter show over 85 per cent jump as compared to the same period last year. As many as 47,282 persons were fined during the quarter for violating the no-public smoking provision of the Indian tobacco control law COTPA, 2003.
This is a record-high number ever since Kerala Police started an online system of COTPA violations reporting in October 2012.
Of the total 20 police districts, 17 districts have recorded action against public smokers in September 2015, as per the latest figures in the official police website. For the sake of administrative convenience, 14 revenue districts of the state have been divided into 20 police districts.
The impressive performance showcased during the quarter also comes from doubling and tripling of efforts by six district police teams as compared to July-September 2014. These include, Thiruvananthapuram City; Pathanamthitta; Ernakulam City; Thrissur City; Palakkad and Malappuram.
In Malappuram, for instance, the number of persons fined has increased from 52 during last July-September quarter to 5,726 in the same period this year. Palakkad has witnessed an over nine-fold increase, from 503 to 4,619.
The State Police Chief Shri TP Senkumar IPS said, “Kerala Police takes its commitment of safeguarding the health of our people very seriously. We realise the dangerous impact of second-hand smoke and do not want our non-smoking population to suffer silently in public places. Action against COTPA violations are reviewed every month in the crime review meetings.” The Clean Campus, Safe Campus programme launched by the Government on 30 May 2014 has strengthened COTPA implementation and tobacco control, Shri Senkumar added.
In the interest of non-smokers, Section 4 of COTPA prohibits smoking in public places including bus stands, cinema halls, restaurants, hotels, pubs, and bars. It also mandates setting up of 60 x 30 cm signages in white, black and red colours. Violations including public smoking and absence of requisite signages can be fined up to Rs 200 on the spot.
As per figures of the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) 2009-10 of the Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare and the World Health Organisation, 30 per cent of men and 8.5 per cent of women are exposed to second-hand smoke in public places.
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