Bhubaneswar: The administration has failed to implement a total ban on smoking in public places in the city.

When the world is going to celebrate the World No Tobacco Day on May 31 with the theme "Tobacco and Heart Disease" to create awareness about the harmful effects of tobacco, the state health and family welfare department's failure on this ground has not only put the active smokers but also the passive smokers at risk.

"When I had first visited the city in 2011, I did not spot anyone smoking in the open. Police used to penalise those, who were smoking in public. Now, the situation is different," said Acharya Vihar resident Sampat Mohanty.

In 2008, the Union ministry of health and family welfare had come up with a rule prohibiting smoking in public places. In 2010, Bhubaneswar was declared "smoke-free city", following which the administration implemented the rules in spirit.

The rules were implemented and fines were imposed on violators under the Prohibition of Smoking in Public Places Rules, 2008. According to the rules, smoking is banned in public places such as hospital buildings, amusement centres, canteens, offices, cinemas, bus stops, stadium and educational institutions, among others.

However, these places are now packed with smokers, to which the city administration is turning a blind eye.

"Several public agencies have put up no-smoking boards, and officials are imposing fine on violators. But in public places, it is the police's duty to take care of the rules," said health department joint secretary P.K.B. Pattnaik, who is in-charge of the tobacco cell.

The police, however, have a different take on the issue. They also cite manpower shortage as a problem to deal with smokers in public places. "We conducted checks on shops selling tobacco products to minors and impose fine if they violate norms. We do keep a check on public places to stop people from smoking in the open," said an official.