Ban on smoking at polling booths

Amritsar, May 31

On World No Tobacco Day, District Election Officer-cum-Deputy Commissioner Ghanshyam Thori said according to the instructions of the Chief Election Commission, all polling booths in the state had been declared tobacco-free in view of the Lok Sabha elections. He said there would be a strict ban on smoking cigarettes, beedis and consuming other tobacco products at all polling booths. Thori said presiding officers of each polling booth had been appointed as the nodal officer to ensure that the ban on the consumption of tobacco products was implemented properly at polling stations.

He said the purpose of declaring polling booths as tobacco-free zones was to protect non-smokers from exposure to smoke and encourage people to maintain good health. He said this initiative was in line with the extensive public health campaigns and an endeavour to reduce the use of tobacco and control diseases caused by its consumption like cancer, heart and chronic lung ailments and blindness.

Meanwhile, FICCI FLO Amritsar, under the chairmanship of Dr Simarpreet Sandhu, has joined hands with Voice of Tobacco Victims (VoTV) to address the pressing issue of tobacco industry interference, particularly targeting children and youth.

“The two organisations have joined hands to protect children from the insidious influence of the tobacco industry, which often employs tactics to make smoking seem glamorous, leading to addiction and disease,” said Dr Simarpreet Sandhu.

“Parents, educators, health professionals and policymakers must work together to keep children away from tobacco,” said Sanjay Seth, chief of operations, VoTV.