At one stroke some 120 crore (1.2 billion) people are forbidden to light up in bars, offices, bus stands and other public places. Lawbreakers will have to shell out a hefty fine of Rs 200 (abour $4).
The feasibility of the whole drill is viewed by many as near impossible.
Health experts say the new edict is likely to be widely flouted, as laws banning spitting and urinating in publics is of almost no effect in India.
Moreover, fines for violating the ban cannot be collected without handing the offenders a challan. And, challans have not been provided to most officials authorised to implement the law.
Police officials are also a disgruntled lot. As high ranking officers pointed out that with terror strikes happening almost every week, the security agencies cannot take chance to deploy staff to catch 'smoking' offenders.
Moreover, since this is the festival season, all cities and towns are extra vigilant to avert any untoward incident. They also pointed out that the police forces in the country are anyway short of stuff.
The act regulating tobacco products was passed in 2003 and the notification on the ban was issued on May 30 this year.
Image: A man drives a truck displaying an anti-tobacco message | Photograph: Prakash Singh/AFP/Getty Images
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