“CYPRUS will have one of the strictest anti-smoking laws in Europe”.
This is the view expressed by DISY MP Andreas Themistocleous, who has told the Cyprus Mail that the extremity of the new laws on smoking are matched in Europe only by those of the UK and Ireland.
Blasting the passing of the bill late on Thursday night, Themistocleous called the new legislation a “cannibalisation of rights” and an “incursion of the state into the lives of ordinary citizens”.
Elaborating his point, he explained how “the rights of non-smokers to enjoy themselves in a smoke-free environment has come full circle and denied the rights of smokers at the other end… This law will stigmatise smokers and cause a huge amount of damage… The cost of its implementation, from the thousands of inspectors that will be needed to the economic damage to businesses, will be huge. “
Themistocleous, who has been a vocal critic of the law since its initial proposition, put down the concerted effort from the government to introduce it as symptomatic of an ideology that “seeks to have the state take more control in the everyday running of public life.”
He also condemned the imposition of a decree, which he characterised as alien to Cypriot culture in its rigidity: “We should have had something more along the lines of what they have in Spain, Greece or Austria. We need balanced laws that take everyone into account.”
When asked about the flexibility of the legislation, and whether there was any ‘window’ for change incorporated into it, Themistocleous did not display much optimism, stating that “there is no window in the actual law”.
“There was a clause in the statement (of the Parliamentary Committee for Health) which said that minor alterations could be made if approved before the end of November.”
However, he dismissed this clause as something verging between appeasement and hollow assuagement. Regardless of the uphill struggle, he and the two other MPs who rejected voted against the bill must now undertake in achieving something more similar to the situation of Greece, he expressed confidence that there was still the possibility for something to be done.
“I will be working with Mr Leventis (of the Bar Owners’ Association) in trying to get at least something changed after the summer.”
On the opposite side of the debate, along with the majority of the MPs who voted in yesterday’s plenary session, EU Health Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou expressed her “deep satisfaction with the big decision to ban smoking in public places” while speaking to state radio, adding that she will now be waiting to see if it is abided by and that she hopes and is optimistic that it will be implemented effectively.
She put down her confidence in the new law as resulting from its comprehensive nature and the fact that “there is now a united dynamic in Europe to protect people from smoking and we are all now aware of its harmful effects.”
Also speaking to state radio and again expressing his opposition was Bar Owners’ Association President Fanos Leventis, who described the final form that the bill had assumed as “tough and creates many negative circumstances for my partners (i.e. bar and restaurant owners)”.
“There are many points of contradiction, and I feel compelled to repeat my dismay at the choice of date.”
Leventis also sought to highlight the all-inclusive nature of the law as “lacking in the acknowledgement of individual cases.”
He also made it clear that while he would urge his partners to abide by the legislation, he would not however sit back and accept the decision as given: “We are examining the details of the law with our legal advisors and if anything is found to be unconstitutional then we will definitely take it to the political establishment.”
The smoking ban will cover the interiors of all buildings that are accessible to the public and is scheduled to come into effect on January 1. This is despite a late attempt by DISY during Thursday’s final parliamentary session to change the date to January 15 to avoid the confusion smokers will have to face on New Year’s Eve, when many might face the predicament of entering the new year doing something illegal.
