With an aim to make Goa’s coastline tobacco free, the State Tourism Department is planning to make all its beaches smoking-free zones by the end of October, 2012. The Department will be adding beaches to the list of public places where smoking is banned, informed Pamela Mascarenhas, Deputy Director of Goa Tourism Department.
Along with cigarettes, hookahs will be banned at the beach shacks and restaurants, as per a Hindustan Times report by Aakriti Sawhney. “We’ve put a clause in the terms and conditions of shack allotment that will prohibit use of hookahs,” added Mascarenhas. Miramar, next to the Goa's capital Panaji, will be the first beach where the order will be implemented as it has very few shacks compared to the crowded Calangute and Baga beaches. “We are starting with Miramar. Awareness is more important. If we start off with the most popular Calangute beach and ban smoking there, there will be chaos. Hence, we have chosen the relatively less crowded Miramar beach,” Mascarenhas added.
Click here to see the original article>Along with cigarettes, hookahs will be banned at the beach shacks and restaurants, as per a Hindustan Times report by Aakriti Sawhney. “We’ve put a clause in the terms and conditions of shack allotment that will prohibit use of hookahs,” added Mascarenhas. Miramar, next to the Goa's capital Panaji, will be the first beach where the order will be implemented as it has very few shacks compared to the crowded Calangute and Baga beaches. “We are starting with Miramar. Awareness is more important. If we start off with the most popular Calangute beach and ban smoking there, there will be chaos. Hence, we have chosen the relatively less crowded Miramar beach,” Mascarenhas added.