COLOMBO, May 16 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka's National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol (NATA), in partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO), is planning to set up 362 smoke-free zones in the country, the NATA said on Monday.
The move is aimed at protecting the public from exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke, a researcher attached to the project told the media in Colombo.
NATA Chairman Samadhi Rajapaksa said exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke was a serious threat to the health as it causes death and disease in non-smoking adults and children.
Rajapaksa said that half of children are regularly exposed to second-hand tobacco smoke in public settings, and therefore, eliminating smoking at all homes, work sites, and public places is needed.
Despite multiple measures by successive governments to bring down tobacco smoking prevalence in Sri Lanka, the presence of tobacco is still considerably high among certain groups, according to a report. ■