No Smoking
On Thursday January 21, the health committee adopted an amendment to the law regarding the effects of cigarette smoking. The amendment aims to tighten the ban imposed on smoking in public places. If it becomes law, smoking a pipe or a cigarette in restaurants or pubs will no longer be permitted. The ban will also affect all educational and health facilities, among them hospitals. Similarly, smoking will not be allowed on beaches and on public transport, including trains as the committee deleted a previous entry which allowed train companies to permit smoking in selected cars on their long-haul routes. The smoking ban has also been extended to taxi cabs while members of parliament decided to vote against an initial proposal to add private vehicles to the list. The amendment was introduced by PiS members, it also has the backing of PSL. It has been approved by the government even though the first reaction of Ewa Kopacz, the health minister, was negative. Under the law, the advertising and promotion of tobacco products will also be forbidden. So far twelve EU countries have introduced a complete ban on smoking in the workplace, in bars and in restaurants.
Gazeta Wyborcza
