Kathmandu / The selling, consumption and transaction of tobacco-based products have been prohibited in Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) area from today. 

KMC, Health Department Chief Ram Prasad Poudel said a complete ban has been imposed on the sale of tobacco products in the metropolis's all 32 wards. According to him, the selling, storage and consumption of tobacco products packed in plastics have been completely prohibited within KMC from today.

The banned tobacco products include the raw tobacco, chewing tobacco, bidi, tambakhu, sulpha, gutkha, panparag, packaged in plastic pouches.The KMC had on November 28 issued a public notice about this ban. 

It is said the KMC Police will seize such products if found selling them. "We are on a campaign of making Kathmandu a healthy city. We have decided to ban the storage, selling and use of tobacco-based products harmful to people's health and the environment, coinciding with the 29th KMC Day," said the KMC Health Department Chief Poudel.

He said this provision is included in Clause 42 of the Public Health Act the KMC issued in 2080 BS. The provision in the Act is being strictly implemented in a bid to reduce the adverse effects the use of tobacco products is having on individual health.

Tobacco control is the first condition for improving the public health and environment in the city. It is said KMC is preparing to implement programme to control hukka in the second phase.