New Tobacco Law Ignites Controversy in Chile

Source from:  Santiago Times 02/20/2013

Business unions predict sales drop of more than US$480,000 per day for restaurants and bars, while many restaurant owners feel indifferent.

Thanks to an overwhelming majority vote in Congress, Chile will soon make indoor public areas smoke-free. Supporters consider the reform a breakthrough in discouraging a habit that kills 46 people in Chile every day. But it has also hit serious opposition from business unions, who claim the economy will suffer.

Taking effect on March 1, the new law prohibits smokers from lighting up in enclosed areas such as pubs, discos, restaurants and even stadiums.

Lezak Shallat, coordinator of anti-tobacco lobby Chile Libre de Tobacco, said that smoking is one of the biggest preventable health problems in the country, costing the state an annual US$2.5 billion to treat associated diseases.

"Chile has the highest smoking rates in the Americas, and among young ages it has the highest smoking rates in the world," Shallat said. "This is one of many measures required to bring those figures down."

But not everyone is applauding the decision.

President of the Chilean Association of Gastronomy, Fernando de la Fuente, said at a press conference that local businesses will be hit the hardest by the new legislation. The leader noted that 40 percent of venues in the Santiago Metropolitan Region do not have outdoor terraces and will not be legally allowed to permit smoking come March.

As a result, de la Fuente estimated the restrictions would generate a drop in sales of more than 227 million Chilean pesos (US$480,000) per day for restaurants and bars.

However Monica Carillo, owner of Il Franciscano restaurant in the upscale Bellas Artes neighborhood, said her economic interests will not be drastically threatened by complying with the regulations.

"I don't think it will change anything for restaurants. Maybe we will have a few less customers, but I think that bars and clubs will be more affected by the upcoming law than us," she said.

Some other restaurants already strongly discourage smoking indoors as a courtesy to their nonsmoking clientele, especially during earlier hours.

Carillo said she believes that civil society has influenced the progressive reform in Congress.

"Mentalities have changed. I feel the new generation is more conscious of the harmful effects of tobacco and also more respectful of non-smokers," said the owner. "During the Pinochet regime, people would smoke everywhere, including in hospitals. Now if you ask someone not to smoke inside a restaurant they will understand."

Shallat said she agrees the law is a step forward for public health, necessary to combat the concerning statistics for young female smokers aged between 13 and 15 years, who have the highest prevalence in the world.

"The goal of this law is to de-normalize smoking to bring down rates for the next generation," she said.

The legislation makes Chile the eighth South American nation to pass tobacco control laws, complying with its international commitments to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which was ratified by Congress in 2005.

Chile is playing catch-up with the rest of the region in this issue, most notably to Uruguay, which passed comprehensive smoke-free legislation five years ago that is delivering results. A study by the International Tobacco Control Policy Evaluation Project revealed Uruguay's strategies have resulted in a significant decrease in adult and youth smoking.

According to the report, Uruguay is leading the way in raising awareness about the harms of the habit, effecting a reduction in exposure to secondhand smoke and reducing demand for tobacco products through tax increases.

"Chile's tobacco control legislation is lagging behind the region, not to mention the rest of the world," said Shallat, who thinks much could be learned from Uruguay's swift action. Enditem