India's first smoke-free tourist spot...!

India's First Smoke-Free Tourist Spot Ernakulam

Ernakulam, the business hub of Kerala, has become India's first smoking-free tourist destination. District panchayat president Eldhose Kunnappillil released "smoke-free Ernakulam" balloons on the occasion. This was the result of 18-months of efforts made by the district administration, Health Department, Cochin Corporation and district panchayat under "Smoke-Free" Ernakulam project. It was aimed at controlling smoking in public places and effective implementation of the Indian Tobacco Control Act.
                          The project was launched by putting warning signs against public smoking and the people's right to smoke-free air in prominent public places. The city achieved the fete 12 years after high court banned smoking in public places throughout Kerala for the first time in the country. The smoking ban came on a petition filed by a house wife. Monamma Kokkad, a retired English professor at BCM college, Kottayam, moved the court after she was exposed to passive smoking while commuting by train between Cochin and Kottayam.
                           The police implemented the ban in the initial days by booking people at bus stops and railway stations and penalising them with fines ranging from Rs.200 to Rs.500.