New Delhi, October 29: Over 60 per cent of bars-cum-restaurants in the country are flouting smoke-free rules even a year after the implementation of the ban on smoking in public places, a new study has found.
The study revealing alarming facts was conducted in 211 public places such as restaurants and bars in 16 cities across 12 states/UTs to test the particulate air pollution from secondhand tobacco smoke during peak business hours and the data was compared with guidelines stipulated by World Health Organisation (WHO).
According to the ‘Air Quality Monitoring (AQM) study’, fine particle air pollution is 32 times higher than the WHO recommended guidelines for air quality in non-compliant bars-cum-restaurants.
The study reveals that in locations flouting the smoke-free law, employees and customers are at increased risk of adverse health effects, especially heart attacks, lung cancer and serious respiratory illnesses.
–Agencies