17,000 booked in Punjab for smoking in public

Over 17,000 people have been issued tickets (challaned) by the Punjab government this year for violating ban on smoking in public places, a senior health officer said here Wednesday.

Punjab's Principal Secretary of Health and Family Welfare Vini Mahajan said that 12 districts in Punjab have already been declared tobacco smoke-free.

"From January 2013 to August 2013, more than 17,000 violators have been challaned under COTPA (Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products Act)," Mahajan said at a workshop here attended by health officials from twelve states.

It was disclosed that Punjab is the first state to declare e-cigarettes illegal.