Meghalaya has few ‘no smoking’ signage in public places

SHILLONG: A dissemination workshop was conducted on Wednesday at NHM Conference Hall, Directorate of Health Services here to highlight the findings of Baseline Assessment on compliance of Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA) 2003 and public opinion poll on prohibition of smoking in public places.

The baseline assessment was conducted in East Khasi Hills and West Khasi Hills districts of Meghalaya during the end of 2018. The findings of baselines assessment show that there are very less “No Smoking” signage in public places but as per law all public places must display “No Smoking” signage.

There are instances of tobacco products being sold by minors as well as by minors. There was no display of “no sale to minors” at shops. There was no display of “100 yards radius” signage in educational institutions. All Indian tobacco products observed for the purpose of the study are fully compliant to COTPA.