The Supreme Court on Friday junked a plea seeking a direction to increase the smoking age from 18 to 21, and ban the sale of loose cigarettes. A bench comprising Justices S K Kaul and Sudhanshu Dhulia rejected the plea filed by two advocates.
“If you want publicity, argue a good case…don’t file publicity interest litigation,” the bench said while dismissing the plea. The apex court was hearing a public interest litigation filed by advocates Shubham Awasthi and Sapta Rishi Mishra seeking guidelines to control smoking.
The plea also sought directions to remove smoking zones from commercial places besides banning sale of loose cigarettes near educational and healthcare institutions and also places of worship.
According to a report in The News Minute, the plea said, “A study published in the Journal of Nicotine and Tobacco Research has flagged the severe economic burden of second-hand smoke exposure in India. The study revealed that second hand smoke causes Rs 567 billion in health care costs annually. This accounts for eight per cent of total annual health care expenditure, on top of Rs 1,773 billion in annual economic burden from tobacco use.”
The petition said that products like cigarettes, especially in the country, are affecting the right to health of the citizens.
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