No smoking in workplace
The government after proposing that October 2 as ‘World No Alcohol Day’ at the World Health Assembly now plans to ban smoking in workplaces from the same day. With smoking already banned in public places - railway stations, public transport, hospitals, schools etc., the health ministry’s proposal to make offices smoke free this year was first reported in January 2008. Smoking is already banned in public places in India and the smoke free workplace rules will further ensure workplaces provide clean air to employees. There is no safe level of exposure to toxicity in tobacco smoke. Creating 100 per cent smoke-free environments is the only way out, as ventilation, air filtration and use of designated smoking areas have repeatedly failed to provide clean air. The existing Cigarettes and Other Tobacco products Act bans smoking in public places and only allows smoking and tobacco-use in designated areas in airports and restaurants seating over 30 people. Banning smoking in designated areas at airports and restaurants would require amending the Act, which would cause unnecessary delays. Smoke-free environments also helps smokers who want to quit, with data from industrialised countries showing that smoke free policies in workplaces reduce tobacco consumption among workers by an average of 29 per cent, says the World Health Organisation’s Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic 2008. Second hand smoke exposure increases the risk of heart disease in non-smokers by 25-30per cent and cancer by 20-30 per cent, says the report. France and Germany have banned smoking in public places, including bars and cafes, from January 1 this year, following UK that introduced a similar ban in July 2006. According to the WHO, about 50 per cent Americans and 90 per cent Canadians live in areas where public spaces and workplaces are smoke free.
Co-operative waste management
SWaCH a co-operative that wants to ensure that all citizens of Pune are able to live in a clean, sustainable environment, is a group of waste pickers managed to reverse a municipal refusal. It offered to pick up waste from the doorstep of the resident, for a small fee. All it asked for was 5 years’ fiscal and institutional help from the Pune Municipal Corporation - PMC. SWaCH needs only Rs 2.33 crore, in the first year, and reduced support for the next four years after that. Apart from this, it needs Rs 3.5 crore of infrastructure in the first year. Despite its practical idea, the cooperative didn’t get the contract initially in 2007, because the general body of the PMC changed its mind. For a year then, the cooperative pushed its case relentlessly. Finally, the PMC order has been overturned and the cooperative is about to start work.
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