Greeks fuming over smoking ban - again (News Feature)

By Christine Pirovolakis Aug 31, 2010, 8:20 GMT

Athens - Greece, the home to Europe`s largest percentage of smokers, will no longer be allowed to light up in public places as of Wednesday. But after countless efforts to stamp out the habit, will they actually make it stick this time?

Under the new law, smoking will be banned in all public places, with the exemption of casinos and bars larger than 300 square meters - which have a nine-month extension.

Customers who break the law will be liable to fines ranging from 50 to 500 euros while owners of establishments run the risk of receiving tougher penalties of 500 to 10,000 euros while repeat offenders run the risk of having their licenses revoked.

The new law will have a heavy impact on a nation where nearly 45 per cent of the adult population smokes, and where smoking in officers and cafes is seen as a traditional pastime.

The government renewed its effort to stamp out the habit in public areas following the failure of a partial ban last summer, itself the third such crackdown in less than a decade.

Last year's ban was largely ignored because of exemptions for small bars and restaurants as well as a failure to punish offenders who routinely lit up cigarettes in larger bars, in taxis or at work.

'This is a matter of public health and not intended as a hunt just to impose fines,' said Health Minister Marilisa Xenoyiannokopoulou.

The Health Ministry has said the new law is aimed at saving the lives of an estimated 20,000 people who die every year from smoking in Greece, costing the country an annual 2.14 billion euros.

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.

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 prohibition, which is already unpopular with the public and comes in the midst of a recession and debt crisis, will succeed.

'How are we expected to survive? - this is going to seriously hurt business. First they increase our business taxes - now they are telling us that we must turn away customers who light up?, says Yorgos Pavlopoulos , the owner of Il Gatto cafe, located in the trendy pedestrian walkway of Voukourestiou near Syntagma Square.

Greece`s ruling Socialist government, which narrowly avoided bankruptcy earlier this year, agreed in talks with the European Union and International Monetary Fund (IMF) to a series of austerity measures to lower the country`s mounting deficit. Among the measures is a 10 per cent increase in tax on cigarettes.