Greece's third try at smoking ban gets underway (News Feature)

By Christine Pirovolakis Jul 1, 2009, 11:48 GMT

Athens - Greece introduced a ban on smoking in public places on Wednesday - its third attempt in a decade to stamp out the habit in the country considered one of the last bastions of smoking in the European Union.

Anyone caught lighting up will now be subject to a 1,000 euros (1,400 dollars) fine, whilst establishments that do not comply with the new regulations risk losing licences.

Britain, Ireland, France, Germany and other EU states have already introduced public smoking bans.

But, considering Greece's patchy track record for implementing new laws, there seems to be no guarantee the new law, with allows for some loopholes and is unpopular with the public, will succeed.

Similar laws introduced in 2002 and 2003 went largely unheeded in a country where nearly 45 per cent of adults smoke and where puffing on cigarettes in offices and cafes is seen as a traditional pastime.

'In Greece we are used to saying that laws are passed but not enforced,' Health Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos said.

'Smoking is already prohibited in hospitals but the ban is not obeyed. We are determined to enforce the new law this time around and to revolutionise people's outlook,' he warned.

The last legal cigarettes in hospitals, schools, cinemas, airports and all public forms of transportation were to be stubbed out on Wednesday, while huge billboards advertising cigarette brands will also be banned from city streets and motorways.

After a last-minute amendment to the law, companies with more than 50 employees will be able to set up dedicated smoking areas on their premises.

Small cafes and restaurants with premises measuring less than 70 square metres have had to choose between becoming tobacco-free or admitting only patrons who smoke.

Many bar and restaurant owners have reacted angrily to the new laws, saying they face financial losses.

'Look around you. There is no one sitting inside today - the cafe is completely empty because we decided to make it non-smoking,' said Vassilis Panagopoulos, the manager of Valaoutou Cafe in central Athens.

'For now we have tables outside which serve the summer season, but what will happen during the winter when people are forced to sit indoors?'

Giorgos, a 40-year-old Athens bar worker, believes most small businesses will choose to accept smokers, saying: 'The majority of our customers come here to relax, have a drink and smoke.'

Some restaurant owners are not convinced a ban is the best way to balance pleasure with improving public health.

'We can understand the government wanting to protect the public,' said Dionysis Koutsonikolis, a waiter at Janettos bar. 'But smoking a cigarette after a meal is a comfort and pleasure which is part of the art of living.

And many Greeks consider the new law an infringement on civil liberties and insist it is destined to fail.

'I personally believe that the new law will not last,' said public servant Theodoros while enjoying a smoke outside the offices of the country's social security institute.

'Greeks will follow the measures for the first little while and then they will begin breaking the rules. They always do.'

Alexis Zorbas, who heads the Health Ministry's anti-smoking campaign, said businesses would be allowed to gradually eased into complying with the new law.

'We believe that with the majority of cafes and restaurants having outside tables, it is the perfect time to get people used to the new ban.'

Each year, 20,000 people in the nation of 11 million die from tobacco-related illnesses, according to European Commission figures that place Greece ahead of Bulgaria at 39 per cent and Latvia, 37 per cent.

A 2007 survey found the number of smokers in Greece had risen 10 per cent in a decade while other developed nations were kicking the habit.

Sitting with a friend outside of Jimmy's cafe along the smoke- filled popular pedestrian boulevard in downtown Athens, office worker Maria Petrou said an all-out ban was the only way to get Greeks to stop smoking.

'The Greeks need someone to prohibit them from smoking, otherwise there is no way to get them to give up.'

European Health Commissioner Androula Vassiliou has proposed an outright ban on smoking in closed public spaces for all EU member states by 2012.

Vassiliou, welcomed partial bans but said they were 'far from ideal' as they so not provide adequate protection from passive smoking.