• Ankit Chaudhary, Anita Thakur, Tripti Chauhan, Anjali Mahajan, Vijay Barwal, Anmol Gupta, and Shaina Chamotra.
• Department of Community Medicine, Indira Gandhi Medical College, Shimla 171001, Himachal Pradesh, India.
• Natl Med J India. 2020 Nov 1; 33 (6): 335-339.

Background. Tobacco consumption in any form is a major contributor to non-communicable diseases, and it is the leading preventable cause of death worldwide. Secondhand smoke is also harmful. To halt the smoking epidemic and protect people from second-hand smoke, the Government of India enacted the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA) in 2003.Methods. We ascertained compliance with the provisions of COTPA 2003 at 183 public places and 41 transport facilities of Shimla city from August 2017 to July 2018.Results. Only 48% of public places had good compliance with the provisions of COTPA 2003. On average, a public place was found to be compliant with 7 of 10 key indicators of Section 4. Educational institutes and government offices had a higher rate of compliance compared to other places. Active smoking and signages signalling ban on smoking were observed in 17% and 95.6% of public places, respectively. Smoking aids (e.g. ashtrays) were observed at <10% of places. A designated smoking area was not seen at any public place.Conclusion. Overall compliance of the Act was low with less than half the places having satisfactory compliance with Section 4. There is a need to raise awareness about the negative effects of smoking on health and environment and ensure strict adherence to the provisions of COTPA 2003.

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