Tobacco in Goa
There are many five-star hotels in Goa to choose from. Each one is the height of luxury and comfort, and designed to make the guests feel well taken care of. With a sumptuous combination of old-world hospitality, and new-world ameneties, there is something here for every taste. This is the most viable state in India economically, and their number one business is tourism, so you can be sure we know how to do it right here. Whether your stay is for business or for pleasure, or a little of both, we want to make sure your down time is spent resting and revitalizing.
Goa has a long history of travelers. As a coastal place, there is more traffic than usual, and this leads to a rather multi-cultural society, based on careful respect for cultures and traditions. There are a number of religions and languages locally, and some familiarity will help make the trip more interesting, and even enlightening. One local custom though, which is a bit baffling perhaps, relates to the tobacco laws in Goa. Referred to as the Goa Prohibition on Smoking and Spitting Bill , this thorough piece of legislation was passed in 1999. At the time it was extremely forward thinking, and very precise about making Goa unfriendly to tobacco all around. It prohibited and fined the use of tobacco for smoking, chewing, or sniffing. Although this seemed to go against a tradition that brought the Portuguese here in earlier centuries, to colonize the area for its rich tobacco plants, groups such as NOTE (National Organization for Tobacco Eradication) helped to sway public opinion.
Specifically intended to curb the rise of smoking in young people, the comprehensive ban was one of the most severe in the world. It brought a lot of attention to Goa, both for its progressive stance on tobacco, as well as the legislative powers of its citizen action groups. However, a decade later, there are some problems with the bill, and one in particular: no one seems to be enforcing it. In any case, it seem that tobacco laws are simply not being implemented . Restaurants who don’t comply are complaining that their clientele don’t like the laws, and in many public areas, there’s simply no sense that the law ever existed. So although progress can be made on paper, in practice that’s another issue altogether.
Related posts: