Smoking in public places may soon become a punishable offence in Delhi. With effect to this, on August 7, Delhi state health minister Harsh Vardhan introduced a bill- christened as the "Delhi Prohibition of Smoking and Non-smokers Health Protection Bill" -in the legislative assembly. The first of its kind to be ever tabled by any state government in India, the objective of the bill is to discourage rising tobacco use in the capital, and protect non-smokers from the effects of passive smoking.

The bill disallows smoking in public places. The other salient features include banning of the sale of cigarettes, beedis and cigars to those below the age of 18 years, and also within a radius of 100 rn around educational institutions.

The bill envisages a penalty of Rs 100 for the first offence followed by Rs 500 for subsequent offences. It also seeks to ban advertisements propagating smoking and sponsorships of tobacco products during a cultural or a sports event. The violators of this provision would have to pay a fine of Rs 500-1,000 besides serving a 3-month prison sentence.