Czech Gov''t Not United on Smoking in Restaurants

Source from:  Prague Post (cz)  08/29/2014

The Cabinet today neither supported nor rejected a proposal to ban smoking in all restaurants, which was submitted by MPs for the government's ANO movement.

The center-left government coalition comprising the Social Democrats (ČSSD), ANO and Christian Democrats (KDU-ČSL) was not able to agree on a united stance on this point.

The cabinet says in its preliminary stance it generally agrees with the ban but prefers its own broader version of the respective bill. The Health Ministry is to submit it by the end of the year.

Despite the government's divided position, ANO's bill will be sent to the Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of parliament, that should debate it at its September session.

According to the bill, smoking would be prohibited in all public catering facilities, except for their outdoor areas.

The government criticized some unclear formulations in the bill's wording. It is not clear, for instance, whether the ban would apply to tobacco products only or also to electronic cigarettes, it said.

The prepared government bill would ban smoking in restaurants along with the sale of alcohol and cigarettes in vending machines. In addition, restaurants would have to offer at least one non-alcoholic beverage that would be cheaper than the same volume of the cheapest alcoholic beverage (usually beer).

The government bill would also ban smoking on hospitals' outdoor premises.

Some 18,000 people die of smoking consequences in the Czech Republic annually. Smoking causes nine in 10 cases of lung cancer, and it increases the risk of heart attack and stroke tenfold.

Smokers make up about 30 percent of the inhabitants of the Czech Republic's population of 10.5 million. Enditem