Worth another shot

The KMC’s new ban on smoking in public places is laudable. It should not be limited to publicity stunts.

Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) has again announced a ban on the consumption of tobacco products in public places. Just like the previous editions of the ban, the new version is pegged on the Tobacco Products (Control and Regulatory) Act 2011, whereby smoking or chewing tobacco in public spaces is banned and local authorities have the right to slap a fine between Rs 100 and Rs 100,000 on the offenders. Almost three years after Mayor Balendra Shah’s first dig at restricting the use of the carcinogenic products, citing detrimental effects on public health and rising air pollution, executive and municipal assembly meetings of the metropolis have decided to enforce a smoking ban in public places and impose a fine of Rs 500 for its violators. While the decision is the third of its kind in Mayor Shah’s tenure, even his predecessor, Mayor Bidya Sundar Shakya, had tried to ban the consumption of tobacco products in public places, first in 2018 and then in 2019. Apart from the multiple failed attempts of the metropolis, the police had in 2016 detained 600 rule violators in a week.