October 2nd dawns and India is to go smoke free! Yayyee… finally!! Smoking is going to be illegal in all public spaces. Those include pubs, restaurants, stations, movie halls etc. (any place that requires more than 20 people to congregate in a closed space)

The effective implementation of this ban would enable non smokers to finally lead a normal life! Being a non smoker in a group with smokers is like suffering from some kind of handicap. When you crinkle up your nose, they look at you sympathetically (like they might be sorry that you’re missing the fun) and try and make you comfortable with a ‘I hope it’s not bothering you too much’.  

It’s even worse when you’re at a pub…. With that much smoke holed up in a room, it doesn’t matter that you don’t smoke, the tar is already making its home in your lungs and you’ve lost a few years of your life. A few hours in the smoky pub and you know every inch of your clothing and hair is going to smell of the dank smoke. I have almost become unsocial and don’t feel like hanging out with friends in pubs/disc because it would take too much effort to sit in a smoky room for a few hours and feel like you’re having fun. I even tried a silent protest wherein once I sat in pub with a handkerchief tried around my face and nose… but I had to give that up due to insistent friends who couldn’t bear to be seen with someone who was looking like the Taliban.

I was there in the UK when it went smoke free last year (2nd July 07). And even with the Smokers raising hue and cry about it, a large majority heaved a relieved sigh. The government even reported that within 2 months of the ban, the sale of tobacco products had fallen 21%! In the UK, the usual pub wouldn’t be more than a few square meters big (atleast in the city I was in) and before the ban I would often just choke walking by one of open doors of the pub! Since it became smoke free, I found that I was more willing to hang out in them and really enjoy myself!

In most countries, and Wikipedia cites over 25, smoking in public places is banned. I can’t wait till it happens in India and hope that we are able to implement it. Non smokers can finally have a life and not feel like the outcasts!

Apparently Bhutan is the only country which has banned the sale of tobacco products. I don’t know why more countries don’t follow suit. I mean if it is illegal to kill yourself, then why is it ok to kill yourself (and others in the closed spaces with you) slowly?