Smoking: Czech your health or wreck your health
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Health fanatics are winning the war on smoking in Europe but tobacco lovers still have a few strongholds scattered around the continent. From Dublin to Amsterdam via Madrid, our mini-series on smoking takes us further east today as we investigate who’s winning the battle in the Czech Republic.
New legislation will be introduced in July giving Czech bars and restaurants the choice of whether to become smoking or non-smoking establishments.
Describing the option as the fairest available, Social Democrat MP Milan Urban told reporters: “No-one’s being forced to do anything against their will. It’s the free decision of everyone concerned”.
However, under a similar clause introduced in Spain three years ago nearly all bars and restaurants chose to be smoking establishments. Leaving what critics say is an inadequate number of smoke-free wining and dining options.
The new law also states that non-smoking areas must be separated by a wall within bars and restaurants. However, those worried about the dangers of passive smoking argue that is a feeble measure.
Urination and nanny states
The smoking room is under fire from the medical profession. Eva Kralikova is from the Tobacco Dependence Treatment Centre, “Unfortunately you have to open a door to go there, and of course the air will be mixed. It’s similar to a swimming pool where you can piss in one corner and then suggest the rest of the water is clean. Only a 100% smoke-free environment is safe.”
The new Czech law has been attacked as an unfair armistice by health crusaders, who point the finger of blame at the Czech Republic’s unusually influential tobacco lobby. Their lobbyists enjoy unlimited access to lawmakers according to one leading Czech newspaper, which claims three representatives from international cigarette companies work directly as MPs assistants.
But people are dissatisfied on both sides of the smoky partition. Senator Jaroslav Kubera, an advocate for smoker’s rights told Czech radio he was worried, “They’ll be banning certain kinds of food next. George Orwell was spot on when he described the future in 1984 – believe me, it’s getting closer.”
While Western Europe is steadily becoming a smoke free zone, the battle for the Czech Republic still rages on.
- Smoking: Dutch ban goes up in smoke
- Smoking: Spanish ban gets tough
- Smoking: Ireland’s ban re-examined
- Smoking: Belgium eases itself into the ban
Netherlands
The smoking ban is not about smoking. It is about tobacco. You can smoke lavender or tomatos in a bar. It is not harmful to your health. Tobacco is. Why should I suffer from lung cancer when I do not smoke. If smoking tobacco is allowed in a bar because of economic reasons, then why not restaurents or even work places.. Maybe employees will be more productive then... The government must enforce the laws it passes
