Our View: Don’t make the assumption that smokers will flout the law

THE BLANKET smoking ban comes into effect today, against a background of mumblings by bar and restaurant owners, complaining about the unfair law that they say will affect their businesses. The only other group to have a public moan about the new law has been the state school teachers union, because its members would be obliged to leave the school premises in order to have a cigarette. So far, the education ministry has not given in to the demand for a ‘smoking room’ for teachers in schools.
Bar and restaurant owners, on the other hand, have been identifying all types of weaknesses in the law. The chairman of their association, even raised questions about the provision stipulating that all bars and restaurants had to put up appropriate ‘no smoking’ signs in highly visible spots. He was outraged because there was no definition for the word ‘appropriate’ and this would allow police to issue fines on a whim. In Cyprus we are all experts when it comes to dealing with legal technicalities.
While there may be some weaknesses in the law, it is really not subject to misinterpretation. Owners of bars, restaurants, cafes, clubs etc have one very straightforward obligation – to prohibit smoking on their premises. As long as they can do this, which is not very difficult they have nothing to fear. The claim that it would be unfair for an owner to be fined because a customer was caught smoking on his premises is absurd. Surely the owner could stop a customer from smoking and ask him to leave if he does not.
Do restaurant owners allow customers to shoot heroin or smoke marijuana on their premises? Of course not, and from today they will have to treat people who want to smoke in the same way. If the customer insists on smoking the owner could call the police and report him. But why are restaurant owners making the assumption that people will ignore the no-smoking law? Everybody respects the no-smoking policy at the new Larnaca airport terminal. As long as owners are firm about smoking, none of their customers will light up.
People were predicting that smoking bans in countries like Ireland and Italy, in which respect for the law was not so strong, would never work, but they were proved wrong. Smokers complied with the law and if they were desperate for a cigarette they simply walked out of the premises and lit up. Restaurant, bar and cafe owners of Cyprus should not worry because this is what will happen here as well.
We wish everyone a happy new year, in a smoke-free environment.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.