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| October 31, 2006 | Tuesday | Shawwal 7, 1427 |
SC seeks report on enforcement: Anti-smoking law
ISLAMABAD, Oct 30: The Supreme Court on Monday ordered the chief secretaries of the four provinces as well as the chief commissioner Islamabad to submit compliance report on implementation of the Prohibition of Smoking Ordinance 2002.
A three-member bench comprising Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, Justice Mohammad Nawaz Abbasi and Justice Saiyed Saeed Ashhad also suggested the federal health ministry to consider convening another meeting of the provincial chief secretaries in which the chief commissioner Islamabad Khalid Pervez should also be invited to ensure strict implementation of the law.
The bench also made it clear that it would not go into the vires of the anti-smoking ordinance and asked an intervener to approach the high court for challenging section 9 of the prohibition of smoking ordinance 2002 which clamped complete ban on the sale of tobacco and tobacco products especially to minors within 50 metres of an education institution.
On a suo motu notice, the Supreme Court was hearing an application of Consultant Prof Dr Javed Khan of the Aga Khan University on tobacco epidemic and open violation of smoking ordinance in public places.
Under the ordinance, smoking is ban in public places like offices, hospitals, educational institutions and transport.
In his March 15, 2006 letter, the professor had invited the attention of the chief justice towards non-implementation of the ordinance, stating that hundreds of people had died due to different smoking related diseases. Smoking is responsible for cancers of lung, oral cavity, oesophagus, larynx, bladder, pancreas, kidney, stomach and blood.
On Monday, Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan representing 1.2 million vendors selling cigarettes requested the court to implead him as a party in the matter as his clients wanted to challenge section 9 of the ordinance, which according to him was violative of Articles 9 (security of persons), 18 (freedom of trade, business or profession) and 25 (equality of citizens).
“We are not encouraging juvenile smoking but the implementation of the law involved many issues which should be settled first,” Mr Ahsan explained, adding that many private schools had opened up near kiosks or shops selling cigarettes since 1958.
These kiosks are working under the license issued by the excise departments but the law is silent about compensation if these kiosks, situated near educational institutions, are removed due to section 9 of the ordinance. Selling cigarettes is not an unlawful trade, he explained.
Kindly realise that smoking kills 60,000 people annually, the chief justice observed, adding whether the counsel wanted to see juvenile smokers in the streets and the sale of cigarettes near schools. “We are asking this question to Aitzaz Ahsan and not Advocate Aitzaz Ahsan,” he said.
On this Mr Ahsan said section 9 had no definition about educational institutions, and cigarettes were also sold inside university campuses.
Later, Chief Health Officer Athar Saeed Dil and Health Education Consultant Dr Abdus Sattar told the court that in compliance to earlier orders of the court, the health ministry had delegated powers to the provinces, which were now authorised to implement the law.
Moreover, a meeting of all the four chief secretaries has already been held to ensure administrative actions for the implementation of the anti-smoking law.
Secretary Health Anwar Mehmood, they stated, had already written a letter to the provincial governments asking the chief secretaries to implement the law in letter and spirit by expediting necessary actions.
The chief secretaries have also been asked to initiate health education campaigns through electronic media to discourage smoking, while the ministry of health has also chalked out a plan of action for implementation of the law.
The bench, while adjourning the hearing for six weeks, asked the chief secretaries and the chief commissioner Islamabad to submit the compliance report.
The prohibition of smoking ordinance 2002 impose a penalty upto Rs1,000, extendible to Rs100,000 in case of second offence, for violating the law by smoking in public places.
Punishment, in certain cases, also suggested three months imprisonment. Any authorised officer like the members of the parliament, local nazim, union council councillors, drivers of the wagons, buses, trains, cabin crew of PIA, a grade 20 or above government officer, head of all the institutions like hospitals or schools, colleges or university or a police officer, not below the rank of sub-inspector can eject a person who contravenes the provisions of law from any place of public work, the law says.
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