Most Indians support plans to tighten existing laws for a complete ban on smoking in public places, according to results of a survey published Thursday.Some 92 percent of the 1,030 people who answered the survey in Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai and Kolkata, strongly favoured curbs on lighting up at work or in hotels, bars, restaurants, cinemas, schools and hospitals, it said.
Eighty-four percent also agreed that breathing second-hand smoke was a serious health hazard, mirroring the findings of similar surveys conducted in other countries that have now gone smoke-free.
India has some 120 million smokers -- about one-fifth of the population. The country has already outlawed spitting and urinating in public to little noticeable effect, but health experts say urgent action is needed as a newly prosperous middle class succumbs to "western-style" ailments such as lung cancer and heart disease.
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