Greece bans Smoke but not Smog tagged: , , , , , ,

Greece bans Smoke but not Smog

Posted by keeptalkinggreece in environment, Society

You are a smoker. A moderate or a heavy smoker. You puff your cigarettes everywhere. At work. In  bar. At a coffee shop. In hotel lobby. In the restaurant.

Your favorite series was “Mad Men” because it showed the early 60′s when smoking wasn’t a crime but it added to the prestige of the successful man and the progressive woman. Mad Men & Women smoked a bit too extensive to my taste… but it felt  sooo comfortable to be in  a cosy, twilight, smoky atmosphere…

 like this  

Heavy fines for law-breakers

These days are over! Greek Ministry of Health seems determined to stamp out this bad, bad, bad smoking habit, it gives it a second or even a third try to ban smoking from the public closed places.

On Wednesday, September 1st, a new law goes into enforcement, that bans smoking in all public places,  except the casinos and live-music halls bigger than 300 sqm. Smoking will be also banned in working places, buses and taxis.

Smoking law-breakers will be fined with 50 to 500 euros  and I must say I don’t see what will make the fine difference for these fines. EUR 50 for light cigarettes and EUR 500 for cigars?

Business owners will face harder penalties from 500 to 10.000 euros, and they risk to lose their licence if they are proven to be serial law-breakers by  ’letting their customers light up a cigarette or two or a dozen”.

Also Ads promoting smoking will be banned.

Ministry of Health is determined to ban Smoke but not Smog

I don’t need to write here about the reactions of  cafe, bar , restaurant or kiosk owners, who are scared to see their customers go thus in times of a severe economic crisis.

“It is not community policing, but a matter of public health”, said Minister of Health Mariliza Xenoyannakopoulou at a press conference today.

She is devoted to save the lives of direct and indirect smokers. She has a vision: to beat the smoke out of you. So you will entertain  or work in a smoke-free environment but you will go outdoors and breath the  smog-loaded air of Athens.

In this logic I expect the Ministry of Health to ban fast food,  greasy pork chops, baklava, alcoholic drinks and violent behaviour. They are unhealthy too and they cause the Ministry and the state €€€ millions for treatment of cardio-vascular diseases, diabetes, overweight, arthritis, triglyceride and cholesterol, liver damages, bruises and broken bones, teeth and heads. The Ministry can also force  all Greeks to nourish themselves with a healthy Mediterranean Diet and exercise regularly - at least 40 min x 5 days per week.

No public money for quit smoking

On the other hand the Ministry has no money to come up for drugs and devices necessary to help people quit smoking. I bet it has calculated already how much revenues the fines will bring then it states that “80% of revenue from fines collected will be forwarded to the Ministry of Interior on the contributory support of the control mechanism” as TA NEA newspaper writes. What does this mean?  No fines, no control mechanism?

Smoking in Public Offices

I totally agree to ban smoking at public facilities, but when  in pubs and restaurants?

Last summer, the previous government had imposed a similar ban that was never really implemented. Neither in Public Offices nor in entertainment facilities. It was always ‘my pleasure’ to  inhale the cigarette smoke of a civil servant or municipality employee , who would blow the smoke right into my face.

Smirting….

What is left for us smokers is  Smirting  (Smoking + Flirting) A word that  it is used to  describe people who flirt while they smoke outside their office buildings, cafes, bars and restaurants.