‘No loopholes’ in smoking ban
Health Minister Mariliza Xenogiannakopoulou yesterday told Skai Television that a blanket ban on smoking in public places, due to come into effect on September 1, would be strictly enforced, noting that ministry inspectors would be supported in their task by municipal police officers and even port authority officials. Speaking on Skai’s «Proti Grammi» program, Xenogiannakopoulou said there would be «no loopholes.» «The ban will be comprehensively enforced as any shortages we had in our monitoring mechanism have been filled,» she said. The minister added that the government did not want to play Big Brother but to protect public health, in line with European Union standards. Another aim is to discourage smoking among the younger generation. «This is why we have banned the advertising [of tobacco products],» she said. The minister said that a circular, with details about the ban and the nature of the penalties to be faced by offenders, would be issued on Monday, two days before the ban is to come into effect. The blanket ban will prohibit smoking in all bars, clubs and restaurants which will not be allowed to operate smoking and nonsmoking areas anymore, while companies will no longer be able to have smoking rooms on their premises. The ban, which aims to bring Greece’s laws into line with EU legislation, follows the introduction of restrictions in July last year. The restrictions dictated that premises smaller than 70 square meters had to be either exclusively smoking or nonsmoking. As of next Wednesday, only music venues larger than 300 square meters will be allowed to permit smoking.
