MUMBAI: All the film stars and delegates attending the 40th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) being held at Goa have been banned from smoking at the IFFI venues since the National Organisation for Tobacco Eradication (NOTE ) has sent a written complaint to the organizers of IFFI.

It is a violation of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA) 2003 which is operative in Goa since 2 October, 2008.

The complaint was addressed to Entertainment Society of Goa chief executive officer Manoj Srivastava, the co-host for IFFI along with the directorate of film festivals. Following the complaint the organisers have asked the stars not to smoke at the venues of the film festivals.