Restaurant owners, people fined for smoking in public places

Continuing with the anti-tobacco drive, authorities in Kashmir Valley fined 23 people for smoking in public places and issued notices under COTPA to various restaurant owners including a famous coffee outlet here for not restricting customers from smoking.
As many as 23 people were fined for smoking in public places in central Kashmir's Ganderbal district yesterday and a fine of Rs 3000 was recovered from them, an official spokesman said today.
In a separate action, the Food Safety Officer of Srinagar issued a notice under Section-4 of Cigarette and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA) to various restaurant owners for not restricting customers from smoking in their restaurants, the spokesman said.

Under the Act, smoking is prohibited in all public places, including restaurants.
He said notices were issued to the owners of Cafe Coffee Day (CCD) and Akbar Hotel and Restaurant, Durga Nag, Srinagar after customers complained that restaurant owners were allegedly encouraging smoking in their restaurants, thereby causing inconvenience to non-smokers, the spokesman said.
He added that in case of a complaint is lodged, owners are liable to pay a fine of Rs 200 for every person caught smoking in their restaurants.