Romania To Toughen Laws Against Smoking

Source from:  Balkan Insight.com 11/18/2015

"Parks are among the few smoke-free places here," says Larisa Marinescu, 32, pushing a stroller with her eight-month-old girl round a park in Bucharest.

"It is very difficult to find a non-smoking place to eat with a child. This is not normal," she adds.

Marinescu is one of many Romanians who are strongly opposed to smoking.

Now, to her relief, Romania looks set to impose a total ban on the use of tobacco in enclosed public places.

The current anti-smoking law, imposed in 2008 under pressure from the European Union, is relatively permissive, as it bans smoking only in certain public spaces, including shopping malls, hypermarkets, on public transport, hospitals and schools.

It allows smoking in clubs, bars, discos and restaurants.

The concessions have angered many non-smokers and some non-governmental organizations, but nothing has changed so far due to intensive lobby from tobacco companies, which are the second biggest contributor to the budget, and from restaurant and bar owners, who fear their businesses would suffer if smoking were banned.

But the regulations may change now, as parliament is to debate amendments this week to the anti-smoking law, aiming to totally forbid smoking in public spaces.

"The time has come to ban smoking in all public places, at work, in parks, on beaches, in playgrounds, and in sports areas. This is the only way to protect people from exposure to tobacco smoke," Florin Mihaltan, president of the Romanian Society of Pneumology, said.

"Statistics reveal that although 73 per cent of Romanian adults don't smoke, many of them suffer and die prematurely from diseases caused by smoking," he added.

Stricter smoking regulations come also at a sensitive moment in Romania, after 56 people died from a blaze started by fireworks at the Colectiv nightclub in Bucharest on October 30.

The authorities have already started to tighten regulations for clubs to improve security. Experts say banning smoking in bars and restaurants is a necessary move in this regard.

Many smokers oppose the planned ban but say they will accept it. "I will probably quit going to pubs altogether if tobacco is prohibited there. I can't enjoy a good meal or drink with friends without smoking," says Vlad Teleanu, a heavy smoker.

Studies say that around one in four adults in Romania smoke, over 4.4 million people, while 6.5 million more are subjected to passive smoking at home and 2 million at work. Enditem