Smokefree policies in Europe

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On 1 January, Spain became the latest European country to ban smokers from public places. Here we look at the current state of legislation in all 25 members of the EU
Irish Republic
Centuries of tradition were overturned in March 2004 when smoking in bars and all other workplaces was banned. The measure was pushed through by a crusading health minister in the teeth of opposition from the politically powerful hospitality industry.

Although controversial to begin with, smoke-free pubs and other workplaces quickly came to be regarded as the norm and the Irish Republic has been visited by delegations from a number of other countries contemplating anti-smoking moves.

Northern Ireland
A smoking ban encompassing all enclosed public places - including pubs, restaurants and hotels - is due to come into effect in April 2007. Smoking is already banned in government offices and other institutions. Making the announcement last October, Northern Ireland Office minister Shaun Woodward said: "No one has a right to subject colleagues and workmates to the dangers and hazards of second-hand smoke and passive smoking." He, of course, represents an English constituency - where the proposed ban is much less complete.

Although the Northern Ireland policy could be changed if a new powersharing government is formed in Belfast, the expectation is that it would go ahead as planned. No major political party has voiced opposition.

England
Of the four countries of the UK, England is the only one going for a partial ban, due to be introduced in April 2007. This will permit smoking in pubs that don't serve food. It has provoked widespread protests that it will be unworkable. The Government has promised a set of guidelines - but they are unlikely to be simple.

Scotland
A complete ban on smoking in enclosed public places in Scotland comes into effect at 6am on Sunday 26 March following a unanimous decision by the Scottish Executive last November. It will be an offence - with a minimum penalty of £50 - to light up, or allow others to do so, in " no-smoking premises", defned as enclosed locations which are used by the public.

Sweden
All restaurants, bars and cafes are now smoke-free. Ventilated smoking rooms where food and drink is not served can be set up.

Denmark
Under current legislation, smoking is only banned in schools and government buildings open to the public. Transport and council services must have individual smoke-free policies.

Germany
Buses, underground trains, cinemas and theatres have been no-go areas for smokers in Germany for more than 30 years. However a powerful tobacco industry and the fact that the Nazis offcially frowned on smoking, have led post-war German legislators to avoid the imposition of more Draconian measures. Mainline trains still have smoking carriages, for example.

Last year the government reached a voluntary agreement with restaurant and pub owners for the creation of limited no-smoking areas in 30 per cent of all licensed premises.

The partial smoking ban is scheduled to be extended to 90 per cent of all pubs and restaurants by 2008 when owners are requested to ensure that 50 per cent of their premises are reserved for non smokers.

Finland
Smoking is completely banned in healthcare, educational and government facilities, indoor workplaces and offices, theatres, cinemas and public transports although separate areas for smoking may be provided.

Discussions are underway regarding a complete smoking ban and new amendments to curb smoking in restaurants and prevent employees being exposed to ambient tobacco smoke should come into effect in summer 2006.

Estonia
The Tobacco Act of 2001, amended in 2004, imposes a complete ban on smoking in healthcare, education and government facilities, indoor offices and workplaces, as well as theatres and cinemas although in all these areas special smoking areas are permitted.

Latvia
From July the current smoking ban, which includes public buildings and workplaces, will be extended to cafes, bars and restaurants. Designated smoking areas will be provided. Smokers who step outside for a cigarette will be subject to a ban on lighting up within 10 metres of a public building.

Lithuania
Designated rooms are provided in all workplaces, as well as in all health, educational and government facilities. A complete ban on smoking on public transport is enforced, but long-distance trains and planes have smoking areas.

Poland
Smoking ban in force in workplaces and public buildings. No plans to extend this at present.

Hungary
Employers must provide adequate protection for non-smokers. Designated smoking areas may be provided. A 1997 Child Protection Act also states that children have the right to be protected from environmental hazards and substances harmful to health.

Belgium
2006 ushered in a complete smoking ban in all workplaces. From January 2007, a ban on smoking in restaurants will be enforced.

Luxembourg
No current legislation, but there are moves to introduce a complete ban on smoking in the workplace.

The Netherlands
A 2004 bill cut down on smoking in public places and the government aims to reduce tobacco consumption by 80 per cent by 2008. This year smoking rooms will be set up in eating establishments, with the aim of phasing out smoking in public.

Slovenia
Smoking in hospitals and schools is prohibited.

Slovakia
A 1997 law requires employers to impose bans on smoking in workplaces frequented by non-smokers.

Czech Republic
Smoking is banned on public transport and in workplaces where non-smokers could be exposed to tobacco smoke. It is also forbidden to smoke in restaurants during breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Spain
Three days after Spain introduced a law banning smoking at work and in closed public spaces, there is a growing movement to assert what many consider their inalienable right to smoke. Meanwhile, since 1 January, 25,000 people a day have sought medical advice on how to stop.

Petrol stations, news stands and shops that function as bars are trying to circumvent the law that bans them from selling cigarettes, and which has cut their income by up to 20 per cent.

Spain's 12,000 outdoor news vendors feel particularly aggrieved: smoking is permitted in the open air, but sales of cigarettes are confined to specialist tobacco shops (where you cannot smoke).

Offces and factories are now smoke-free. Offenders pay fines of up to €600 (£414) and employers warn that time lost to unauthorised "smoking pauses" will amount to 14 days a year per smoker. You can smoke in the open air and in bars and restaurants smaller than 100 square metres. Numerous small bars in Spain have opted to become smokers' refuges, generating a worse fug than before.

Larger bars and restaurants may demarcate a smoking section of up to 30 per cent of the space, and have eight months to complete the structural alterations. This poses problems for large wedding parties, where the father of the bride traditionally hands out cigars to his guests. (They can only smoke in the smoking areas, where children are prohibited.)

A massively oversubscribed government helpline reveals grey areas that caused even officials to scratch their heads. Can a lorry driver smoke in his enclosed cab? (Yes, it's not a "work centre".) What about massage parlours? Yes, if rooms are designated "smoking". Unexpected opposition has emerged from women at the hairdressers, long accustomed to smoking under the drier. Now they must step into the streets, even in their rollers.

Portugal
Total ban on smoking in public buildings, as well as on public transport when journeys last less than an hour. Partial restrictions on smoking on aircraft are enforced.

France
The law on smoking in public places in France, dating from 1991, is vaguely worded and unevenly applied. The anti-smoking lobby is pressing for much tougher rules, comparable to those in Ireland and, now, Spain.

Under Article 16 of the Loi Evin of January 1991 - which mostly deals with restrictions on alcohol and tobacco advertising - smoking is banned on all public transport and in "places used collectively", except in " areas reserved for smokers".

The French railways, the SNCF, have gone further than the law and abolished smoking carriages. However, many bars and restaurants interpret the law loosely and declare their whole establishment to be an "area reserved for smokers".

Austria
Austrian law, updated in 2003, prohibits smoking in public buildings and transport, but not workplaces.

Greece
Public smoking is banned in many places but special smoking areas are allowed. Cafes, bars and restaurants must allocate space for non-smokers.

Malta
Total ban in place since 2005. Bars, restaurants and cafes that wish to allow smoking must provide enclosed areas. The government has the power to impose fines of up to €250 for contravention.

Italy
An offcial ban on smoking in all enclosed public places including bars, restaurants and offices came into effect in Italy on 10 January, 2005. Since then the ban has led to an 8 per cent drop in cigarette consumption.

There was some initial resistance from smokers and bar owners. But businesses face a fine of up to €2,000 (£1,395) if they fail to ensure their customers do not smoke. Smokers themselves can receive a €275 (£191) fine.

The law allows smoking only in sealed-off rooms with smoke extractors, but only a few places have bothered to comply.

Generally the law has been accepted.

Smoking is still tolerated at cabinet meetings in the prime minister's office, where Defence Minister Antonio Martino, a smoker since the age of 18, describes the habit as"a sacred right".

Cyprus
Smoking is currently banned in all public places including entertainment venues, government buildings and on public transport. It is also banned in private cars carrying passengers under 16, but remains regulated in workplaces.
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Washington D.C. Adopts Smokefree Workplace Law

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The D.C. Council today approved a broad smokefree workplace law for the District's bars and restaurants. Mayor Anthony A. Williams (D) has threatened to veto the bill, but supporters have more than enough votes to override a veto.

The proposal, which passed by a vote of 11-1, is modeled closely on similar restrictions in New York City. The District's law will first apply to all restaurant dining rooms upon enactment and then extend to bars, nightclubs and taverns in January 2007.

The District's law will include exemptions for outdoor areas, hotel rooms, and establishments that receive a significant portion of their revenues from the on-site sale of tobacco, such as retail tobacco shops.

The council debated amendments to the bill for more than four hours, rejecting several amendments that would weaken the bill. The law will take effect after the 30-day congressional review period.

"It's a wonderful first step. They're acknowledging secondhand smoke is a health problem," said Katja Fort, who said she left her job as a liquor sales manager in June after exposure to smoky bars exacerbated her lung illness.

In addition to New York, smokefree workplace laws are in place in hundreds of cities around the world, including Los Angeles, Boston, Montreal, Dublin and Rome, and are being considered almost everywhere they have not yet been enacted. In the Washington D.C. area, Montgomery, Prince Georges, and Howard counties (Maryland) have already enacted smokefree workplace laws.

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New Jersey to Become 11th U.S. Smokefree Workplace State

New Jersey to Become 11th U.S. Smokefree Workplace State

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Governor says he looks forwarded to signing bill into law

Parts excerpted from the Associated Press, 1/6/06
Today, the New Jersey Assembly's health committee passed smokefree workplace legislation. The full Assembly is expected to pass the measure on Monday. The New Jersey Senate passed identical legislation several weeks ago. The bill will require all workplaces to be smokefree, except casino gambling floors.

"This is a bill that I look forward to signing into law," acting Gov. Richard J. Codey said in a statement. "With all of the facts we know today, we need to do whatever we can to protect our workers and patrons from being exposed to the dangers of secondhand smoke," said Codey."

After hearing nearly three hours of sometimes bitter testimony, Assembly Health Committee vice chairman Herb Conaway, a physician, said the benefits and savings from reducing exposure to secondhand smoke "far outweigh" the costs, real or imagined, to businesses.

"We are happy for office, restaurant, and bar workers," said Joe Cherner, founder of BREATHE (Bar and Restaurant Employees Advocating Together for a Healthy Environment), "but we wish the health of casino workers would be treated with the same respect and dignity."

Conaway and other committee members conceded the measure was "imperfect" because casino floors would be exempt, but said they would attempt to remove that exemption in a later bill.

"This is a giant step forward," Senator Loretta Weinberg told the committee. Weinberg has worked for 10 years trying to pass clean indoor air legislation.

The measure had broad support from all major health groups and was strongly endorsed by state Health Commissioner Fred M. Jacobs, a physician and longtime health activist.

"Smoking contributes to more diseases and deaths in New Jersey than any other cause," Jacobs said. "Secondhand smoke is the third-leading cause of preventable death in this country. It kills 53,000 non-smokers nationwide each year, including 1,800 in New Jersey."

Jacobs noted that 10 states, including neighboring Delaware and New York, have adopted similar smokefree workplace laws with no loss in jobs or revenues.

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Bermuda Enacts Smokefree Workplace Law

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Law goes into effect on April 1

The Bermuda Senate voted unanimously in favor of smokefree workplace legislation. The Bermuda Assembly passed the same bill earlier this month. Under terms of the legislation, all Bermuda workplaces (including restaurants and bars) will become smokefree beginning April 1, 2006.

Supporting the measure, Senator Carol Anne Bassett spoke of the “mind-boggling loss to families” caused by tobacco addiction, while Senator Kim Swan passed around a picture of a diseased lung to highlight the damage that tobacco addiction causes to both smokers and those around them.

The new law also ends the sale of cigarettes through vending machines.

Introducing the bill, Senator Raymond Tannock said: “It's for the public health that I bring this bill before the Senate. He explained that the action is part of a global health treaty – the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control – signed by 168 countries and ratified by 115 of them, and involves tightening tobacco control laws. The United States is one of the few major countries not to sign the Framework Convention due to opposition from the Bush administration.

Italy, Ireland, Scotland, Sweden, and New Zealand are among the nations that have already enacted a law similar to the new one enacted by Bermuda.

Tannock said 5 million people across the globe die from tobacco addiction each year.
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