Tag Archives: health issues

Implementing ambitious legislation without the support of all the states isn’t always the most fabulous idea — especially in India. Case in point? The Anti-Smoking laws (officially in place since October 2, 2008), forbidding smoking in public. Really difficult to enforce in such a large country, especially when the larger states like West Bengal and Maharashtra ignore the Health Ministry’s repeated reminders (India.com). Thankfully, four major states have aggressively begun the campaign, after realizing how much money they can make when fining these offenders. The problem, however, still remains: this thing isn’t going to work unless all the states are active participants. A major flaw in the Health Ministry’s plans is that they placed the responsibility on the the state health departments, many of which are dragging their feet on even implementing the basic structure of the program. If the Indian federal government wants to see results, it must take a more forceful stance.

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