By public places, Czech parliamentarians mean public premises in buildings, offices, as well as bus stops and railway platforms. Restaurant, cafe and bar owners will have to equip special smoking rooms in their establishments. The number of retail outlets allowed to sell cigarettes will be significantly reduced. The main places for selling tobacco products will be specialized stores, as well as supermarkets, where special sales equipment must be installed. Cigarette vending machines will disappear from Czech streets.
The law still has to be reviewed by the upper house of parliament and the president, but they are expected not to obstruct its adoption.
The Swiss authorities, for their part, are introducing a complete ban on smoking on passenger trains, in station buildings, on ferries and on buses. This decision was made by the management of transport companies. On the advice of doctors, they want to protect passengers from diseases that can occur in so-called 'passive smokers' - those who do not smoke but inhale cigarette smoke.
The Scottish parliament has also taken care of its citizens. According to RIA Novosti, from March 26, 2006, a smoking ban is also being introduced in public places, including pubs and restaurants. In accordance with the expanded powers granted to this territory of the United Kingdom in 1999, Scotland has the right to adopt its own health laws that apply on its territory.
Scotland's First Minister Jack McConnell approved the outcome of the vote, saying that 'this decision is historic and one of the most important since Scotland was granted legislative autonomy.' Fines for violating the new law will be high: employers who fail to ensure compliance will face a penalty of 2,500 pounds sterling, while ordinary offenders caught smoking in the wrong place will have to part with a thousand pounds.
Scotland is known as a territory with one of the highest smoking rates among the population - 13,000 Scots die every year from smoking-related diseases. Meanwhile, cigarette sellers and pub owners claim that the new law will bring them losses of millions of pounds sterling, cause unemployment and the closure of pubs and restaurants.
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