The Election Commission of India has promised that efforts will be made to create no-tobacco election booths in the state. The announcement comes following an appeal from the Tamilnadu People’s Forum for Tobacco Control (TNPFTC) to the Chief Electoral Officer Rajesh Lakhoni, requesting the creation of ‘tobacco-free election booths.’

The appeal asked that display boards in Tamil be put up at the entrance of the polling booths, and inside, warning voters to not smoke or use tobacco.

It also demanded a ban on the sale of tobacco within 100 yards of the polling booths. Since schools are chosen as polling booths, and section 6b of the Cigarette and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA), 2003 bans the sale of tobacco or tobacco-based products within 100 yards of schools and colleges, the TNPFTC letter said that it was imperative that the ban be imposed.