The study revealing alarming facts was conducted in 211 public places such as restaurants and bars in 16 cities across 12 states/UTs to test the particulate air pollution from secondhand tobacco smoke during peak business hours and the data was compared with guidelines stipulated by World Health Organization (WHO).  

Major findings of the national AQM study (encompassing 12 states/UTs) :

• The smoke free law is being violated as smoking was observed in over 60% of the places i.e. 127 out of the 211 locations visited.
• The study indicates that fine particle air pollution is 32 times higher than the WHO recommended guidelines for air quality in non-compliant bars cum restaurants.
• The study reveals that in locations flouting the smoke free law, employees and customers are at increased risk of adverse health effects, especially heart attacks, lung cancer and serious respiratory illnesses.
• On the positive side, among all the 211 places surveyed, pollution levels are 81 % less for smoke-free bars cum restaurants and as expected, the air quality was significantly better.

Major findings of the Delhi AQM study

• In Delhi, out of the 12 restaurants and bars visited, 5 places were found to be flouting the law by allowing smoking without following the Designated Smoking Room (DSR) norms. The level of fine particle air pollution (PM2.5) in the places where smoking was observed is 64 times higher than the WHO target air quality guidelines.
• The provision of mandatory “No Smoking” signage was also found to be violated in 4 out of the 5 locations where smoking was observed.
• The average level of fine particle air pollution in the 5 locations where smoking was observed was dangerously 18 times higher than the 7 locations where no smoking was observed.

Ms Bhavna Mukhopadhyay, Executive Director, VHAI says, “The Delhi Government needs to intensify enforcement drives in the hospitality sector, particularly those serving alcohol, hookah and country liquor.  In view of the Commonwealth Games next year, Delhi must gear itself up to offer world class smoke free hospitality.”   Methodology The AQM tests were done using Sidepak monitors which took samples from the 211 bars and restaurants that recorded the levels of particulate matter in the air which was sent for analysis to the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in New York, USA.

Recommendations and Conclusions

• Government should effectively implement smoke free laws and increase compliance through proper enforcement mechanism.
• The Government must ensure display of no-smoking signage at prominent points in public places
• The provisions of DSRs are not being followed as per law and no public policy allowing for DSRs has ever demonstrated to eliminate the hazards of SHS exposure. Therefore the law should be modified to ensure completely smoke free indoor places with no DSRs.
• As per the law, if the owner, proprietor, manager, supervisor or the authorized officer of a public place fails to act on report of the violation of the no-smoking rules, then he or she should be made liable to pay fine equivalent to the number of individual offences. However this was not found to be implemented. Therefore this provision needs to be enforced strictly in the days ahead.

For further information, please contact :

Akhauri Pradyuman Sinha -  9891050619
Binoy Mathew                   -  9911366272
                 
VHAI landline - 011-47004300
Email : hpdcu@yahoo.co.in