Udaipur has set a bench mark to the entire country by becoming the first city sans cigarette-tobacco hoardings. Having attained cent percent prohibition on tobacco and cigarette advertisements at public places in the city area, now the administration aims to free the rural areas of the display of tobacco products.

Udaipur also has joined the ‘smoke free’ club with more than 80 percent of the people not smoking at public places.

As a result of a joint drive by the district administration, medical, railways and the police department, Udaipur has set an example by attaining total COTPA (The Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act 2003) compliance, said collector Ashutosh A.T. Pednekar at a district level meeting held here on Wednesday.

A compliance report prepared by the Udaipur school of social work also stated that in a survey made at 160 public spots, 93 percent places were found having warning boards against tobacco consumption, 95 percent were found free of any traces or odor of tobacco related products.

“The medical and health department removed 980 hoardings displaying tobacco products and made 184 challans on those found smoking publicly” said Anil Bharadwaj, an officer from the medical department.

The police department lodged 72 cases against those violating the provisions of the COTPA while the railways imposed penalty on 450 persons in this connection. “The joint efforts gave encouraging results and we are the first in the state and nation to have no public display of cigarettes and other related products’ Pednekar said.

Further, we will be getting stricter for the implementation of sections 4, 5, 6, 7 of the COTPA at the block and village levels, he added.

Contributed by: Geetha Sunil Pillai