Every year, May 31 is celebrated as “World no Tobacco Day”. The underlying factor is to let everyone know the countless health hazards, smoking carries along. We witness thick puffs of unfiltered hazardous smoke is annoying whilst causing serious health problems, infecting all those sitting beside you. The active smokers must be accredited for their socially moral deed, involuntarily affecting all the people around them. Consequently smoking in public places should have been legislated, a punishable act, keeping the pollution and social downside, in consideration.

The underlying principle for smoking bans posits that smoking is optional, whereas breathing is not. Evidently, smoking bans exist to protect breathing people from the effects of second-hand smoke, which include an increased risk of heart disease, cancer, emphysema, and other diseases. Research has generated evidence that second-hand smoke causes the same problems as direct smoking, including lung cancer, cardiovascular disease, and lung ailment such as emphysema, bronchitis, and asthma. Specifically, meta-analyses show that lifelong non-smokers with partners who smoke in the home have a 20–30% greater risk of lung cancer than non-smokers who live with non-smokers. Non-smokers exposed to cigarette smoke in the workplace have an increased lung cancer risk of 16–19%.           

Keeping the health hazard in view the legislatures must have legislated smoking ban, years before, but better be late than never, is indeed appreciable stance. Lastly, the Wolesi Jirga  approved a draft law banning smoking in public places whilst increasing the import duty on tobacco products by 50 percent. The motion was overwhelmingly approved by majority of the house.

Laws implementing bans on public smoking have been introduced by many countries in various forms over the years, with some legislators citing scientific evidence that shows tobacco smoking is harmful to the smokers themselves and to those inhaling second-hand smoke.

The Ministry of Public Health had prepared the draft of article-25 proscribing the use of cigarette, snuff and hubble-bubble and was subsequently presented to the assembly a month ago, to get its ultimate decided. The law entail clauses that talks of controls of taxes on tobacco keeping the health concerns in view.

According to the details of health of Ministry of Health, the law bans smoking in public places and charges a fine of 300afs, if one found violating the law. The law also bans advertisements of tobacco products whilst increasing 50 percent duty and

14 percent tax on their imports to be implemented by Ministry of Finance.

This is a praiseworthy initiative undertaken by government inclusive of enormous gains. For instance the smoking restrictions include reduced risk of fire in areas with explosive hazards; potentially reduced energy use via decreased ventilation needs; reduced quantities of litter; healthier environments make a person more potent to carry forth his undertakings.