Third time (could be) a charm for Kathmandu city officials trying to enforce a tobacco ban. Photo credit: Freepik.com
Kathmandu Metropolitan City is once again trying to implement a ban on the consumption of tobacco products in public places starting September 17, after previous attempts had not succeeded.
Banned items include cigarettes, cigars, bidis, chewing tobacco, and gutkas. Public places include government offices, educational institutions, libraries, health posts, airports, old age homes, orphanages, public toilets, cinema halls, theatres, restaurants, and factories. People can only smoke or consume tobacco products in designated zones in these areas.
In 2016, the Metropolitan Police Range Kathmandu took action against those caught smoking in public places and detained more than 600 individuals in one week, each who were fined NPR100. However, the campaign quickly lost steam. In 2018, then-mayor Bidya Sundar Shakya announced an 18-month action plan that included a smoking ban to make Kathmandu a “healthy city”, with a ban on smoking and tobacco use in public places in all 32 wards of the metropolis announced, but this did not do much to deter smoking in public places as enforcement of the regulation was considered a failure.
Nevertheless, city officials believe the ban will be successful this time around. Nabin Manandhar, spokesperson for the city office, said the city will be mobilizing municipal police, Nepal Police, and volunteers to make the drive a success, adding that the ban will succeed as the working procedure of the newly-elected representatives is different.
Balram Tripathi, chief of Kathmandu’s Health Department, also believes the ban will have effect this time. “We have made a work plan, and you will see it once it goes into implementation.”