Govt imposes complete ban on smoking in public places

[Naveed Yaseen]

ISLAMABAD: The government, by withdrawing the Statutory Rules and Orders (SRO) on designated smoking areas has completely banned smoking at all public places to protect non-smokers from the hazards of passive smoking. After the withdrawal of the SRO, smokers would not allowed to use tobacco in any form at any public or work place. Earlier all public and private offices were allowed to designate a separate place within office premises for people to smoke, with adequate arrangements to protect non-smokers from the hazards of passive smoking. However, such authorisation was being misused, as it had become common practice for people in work places to smoke outside the designated areas, while many offices had failed to allocate designated areas for smoking altogether. app

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