Shimla, Oct 3: After Kottayam (Kerala), Chandigarh and Sikkim, now Shimla, capital city of Himachal Pradesh, has been declared as "smoking-free city".

Addressing a function on the eve of Gandhi Jayanti, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal said, "Shimla would be the fourth city to be declared smoking-free".

"All district headquarters would be made smoking-free by the end of May 2011 and a sustain campaign would be launched against drugs, liquor and smoking", he added.

"Smoking in public places and sale of tobacco product had been banned within 100 yards radius of educational institutions and selling tobacco products to minors and direct or indirect advertisement of tobacco had been made an offence," he added.

Dhumal also declared setting up of de-addiction centres at all district hospitals where 5 beds would be reserved for patients for de-addiction.

"An international agency in South East Asia had conducted a survey of Shimla town in May 2010 and found that 97 percent area of the town was smoking-free, warning hoardings were erected at 80 percent of public areas and no signs of cigarettes were detected in 94 percent of the area of the town," the Chief Minister said.

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