PTI

New Delhi, Mar 21: Individuals smoking in their offices will now invite penalty for their institutions as part of the Union Health Ministry’s crackdown on smoking in public places.

“If one person is caught smoking, the fine will be Rs 5,000 for the institution, if two persons are caught it will be Rs 10,000,” Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss told reporters here on Thursday.

The Government is also planning to increase the fine for an individual smoking in a public place from Rs 200 to Rs 1,000, he said.

Expressing concern over the increase in the number of smokers in the country, he said the Ministry recommended the formulation of a comprehensive tobacco control policy and its effective implementation needs to be initiated. There is a need to increase awareness among teachers, students and community leaders,” he said at the release of the ‘Global Youth Tobacco Survey and Global School Personnel Survey’ for 2006.

Observing that the high prevalence of tobacco use among students and school personnel is alarming, the survey said indication of increasing use among girls in some regions was a matter of concern.

The survey reveals that between 2003 and 2006, the smoking pattern did not change nationally among students in the age group of 13-15 but significantly increased in the southern and northeastern region.

Currently, the use of tobacco other than cigarettes by students in the age group of 13-15 has not decreased at the national level but has increased in the central region, the study said. It further goes on to say that the overall prevalence of teaching in schools about the dangers of smoking has not changed but increased significantly in the eastern and north-eastern region.

Exposure of students in the age group of 13-15 to cigarette advertisements on billboards has not decreased significantly at the national level but has decreased in the northeastern region in particular.