No Smokin!!

On the 2nd of OCT, 08, The law against smoking in public places was passed and officially atlest it was an offence to indulge in smoking in public places. I would consider this as a very bold step because it is not something which would have been easy to get through especially with big companies involved in manufacturing of cigarettes.

As i write this it is almost about 3 weeks since this law was made. I have seen a lot of agencies supporting this cause ( willingly or unwillingly) and have put up banners and notice boards with messages stating the law. However, I guess a lot more needs to be just done than putting these messages and banners. In a country like India where the rules are heavily controlled by big-shots sitting in Air-Conditioned chambers, it is extremly optimistic to assume that the law would be incorporated in just a few weeks. I am sure it is not a very rare site to see government officials and Police officials smoking in public places and voilating the law themselves. However, what I still appreicate is that finally a rule was passed and it was considered necessary to make it an offence.

Personally, I dont mind people smoking. I have always believed that it is an individual's responsibility to decide what is good or bad for him, provided he does not effect any other individual without his consent. However, more often than not public smoking causes inconvenience to other bystanders. Hence, I belive the government should go another step further and instead of marking all places with "No Smoking" signs, should also mark a small set of places as "Smoking Zones". Though this might not go too well with a lot of people who consider smoking as a crime, I would say that this way both the non-smoker and the smoker is happy in his own way. There is no need to dictate one's lifestyle here, all that is needed is isolate the ill-effects of ones from the others.