Chandigarh: 83.8 percent people in Punjab compliance to the smoke-free law in the state,  the fact has been highlighted in a study done by the Post  Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER).

The study entitled as Compliance with smoke-free legislation and smoking behavior: observational field study from Punjab, India included a total of 6875 public places across 22 districts of Punjab were observed. This was a cross-sectional analytic observational quantitative survey conducted by a team of trained field investigators using a structured observational checklist across 6875 public places in the Punjab state of India. The study was carried out over a period of 3 years.

The study was done by School of Public Health, PGIMER also highlighted that overall compliance with the smoke-free law in Punjab was 83.8 percent.   The highest overall compliance was observed in healthcare facilities (89.6 percent) and least in transit stations (78.8 percent).

The study findings also showed that less active smoking was observed in public places where the display of ‘no smoking’ signage compliant with the smoke-free law of India was present. Further, there was a positive association between active smoking and places where the owner of public places smoked.

 The study aimed to assess the compliance of public places with smoke-free legislation and determine the factors associated with active smoking in public places.