In Italy, a law banning smoking passed exactly a year ago has already led to a reduction in the number of smokers by half a million people. Since January 1, 2006, a similar law banning smoking even at bus stops has come into force in the Czech Republic. Non-smoking public transport passengers finally felt avenged and immediately called the police at the sight of a cigarette. However, the police, who are also mostly smokers, are still loyal to violators - instead of the fine of 1,000 crowns provided for by the new law, most violators get off with a verbal warning.
However, the ban on smoking in public places is only a small foothold for the impending broad offensive on smokers' rights. The latest fad in the European fashion for a healthy lifestyle is a ban on smoking in cafes, bars and restaurants. According to sociological surveys, nearly half of the Czech population demands such harsh measures. The government, however, is not yet ready for them. "I don't know if that's really reasonable," Czech Prime Minister Jiří Paroubek, who also often treats himself to a good cigar after dinner, said on the Prima TV channel.
If in Eastern Europe parliamentarians have only begun discussing a ban on smoking in bars and restaurants, then in England the long-standing struggle for a complete ban on tobacco smoking has entered its final stage. If two or three years ago only doctors of the British Medical Association, who scare people with lung cancer not only for smokers themselves but also for their loved ones, spoke about the need to ban smoking, now members of the British cabinet are already talking about the need for such measures. The other day, UK Health Secretary Caroline Flint called on the public to "push" the House of Commons to pass the relevant law. That is, the ban on smoking during meals in England can already be considered a settled issue; politicians are only discussing the details - whether to ban smoking in all bars or make an exception for those establishments where only nuts and chips are served as snacks.
True, such a radical bill in England has many opponents who point to the negative Irish experience. The ban on smoking in the workplace and in public places, introduced in Ireland a couple of years ago, led to the loss of tens of thousands of jobs. Apart from the cigarette producers themselves, pubs and restaurants suffered the most from the ban. According to the London Centre for Economics and Business Research, the smoking ban led to entertainment and drinking establishments losing up to 10% of their regular customers and a similar reduction in sales. The total damage to Irish pubs over the year amounted to almost $200 million. True, some enterprising businessmen managed to minimize losses by investing money in creating "smoking shelters". Sometimes a bus parked near the pub played the role of such a "shelter".
If England follows the path of Ireland, then there is no doubt that all London's retired double-deckers will soon park forever outside drinking establishments. Then British advocates of a healthy lifestyle will only have to take the last step on the path to a bright future of public health - to ban the sale of alcohol in bars. Then the regulars of the bar counter will be replaced by British housewives who will come to the pub with infants to drink a glass of milkshake, watch a soap opera and chat with friends. But will it still be England?