GUWAHATI, Oct 13 - The Consumers� Legal Protection Forum (CLPF) Assam has demanded removal of all designated smoking areas under COTPA from restaurants, bars, hotels and airports of Assam. The forum today submitted a letter to Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare Dr Harsh Vardhan in this regard.
In the letter CLPF secretary advocate Ajoy Hazarika said that the best way smokers can reduce their risk of heart diseases and stay healthy during COVID-19 is to quit smoking as soon as possible as first-hand smokers or inhaling second-hand smoke. Even extremely light smoking � as little as one cigarette a day � can increase a person�s risk of heart attack and stroke, he said.
�Comprehensive smoke-free laws improve public health, particularly lung and heart health, by reducing the public�s exposure to second-hand smoke, helping smokers reduce their cigarette consumption or quit. India must eliminate all designated smoking areas to reduce the health burden posed by smoking and second-hand smoke exposure, particularly as it is dealing with the health burden caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Designated smoking areas, even when equipped with ventilation systems, do not protect the public and workers from the deadly effects of second-hand smoke because tobacco smoke moves easily from designated smoking areas to non-smoking areas in the same venue,� Hazarika added.
