The State Government’s move to make ‘No smoking’ mandatory in public passenger vehicles for getting fitness certificates is as ambiguous as the directives is. Travel by any passenger vehicle whether State Corporation buses or the privately owned matador one finds smoking not only by the passengers even the driver and conductors indulging in such actions. Just by putting a board one cannot impose any restrictions especially where people do not give any weightage to such directions. The other one such direction is ‘Seats reserved for women’. The treatment meted out is such that many a time women passengers are made to travel standing and worst are the aged passengers. Officials manning Regional Transport Offices (RTOs) have been directed to issue fitness certificates to commercial vehicles in the State only after ensuring ‘No Smoking’ signage boards are displayed in the vehicles prominently. This at a time when Jammu and Kashmir has the highest number of people who smoke, but less of those who use smokeless tobacco. The State also has the highest number of passive smokers. Nineteen per cent of adults in the northern region used tobacco compared to 35 per cent nationally. The prevalence of smoking in the northern region is 14 per cent and that of smokeless tobacco is 8 per cent. However, Jammu and Kashmir has the highest number of passive smokers in the region – 58 per cent. Pertinently, Transport Department in the State had earlier issued instructions to all its officials to implement Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce Production, Supply and Distribution) Act (COTPA) in the Transport Department and to strictly enforce anti-tobacco laws in the public transport system. What is needed is better awareness among the officials and the operator and heavy penalties so that it works as deterrence for the violators of the guidelines.
