A CROSS-PARTY group of deputies is pushing for more liberal smoking laws to be passed when Parliament reconvenes after the summer holidays.
Under the amended bill, smokers would be able to smoke indoors again in specially designated areas.
The current bill forbidding smoking in public and recreational indoor areas has been in effect since January 1, and has been met by ongoing enforcement problems and strong opposition from bar, café owners and smokers, which constitute about a third of the population.
“Only in England and Ireland are such strict legislations in place”, said DISY’s Andreas Themistocleous who is a strong advocate of the amendment of the existing smoking ban. “The dignity of a citizen cannot be confined just to their homes; they should be free to exercise their rights out of the house. Society cannot live in the room of an intensive care hospital unit.”
The pro-smoking group includes Andreas Themistocleous (DISY), Phitos Constantinou (DIKO), Zacharias Koulias (DIKO), Andreas Kyprianou (DISY), Socratis Hasikos (DISY), Soteris Sampson (DISY), Ritos Erotocritou (European Party), Neophytos Constantinou (DIKO) and Georgios Georgiou (DISY).
If passed, the law would see several changes, including the assignment of floors and secondary restaurants and bars as smoking areas in hotels. Airports and harbours would contain designated smoking rooms under the proposed bill. There would even be specially allocated smoking areas in certain hospital departments, where, according to Themistocleous, smoking is already taking place.
“Any restaurants or recreational centres that are above a certain size will be allowed to have up to 50 per cent of the premises cut off as a designated smoking area by some physical means like glass, wood or metal,” said Themistocleous of another major change that the bill would incur. “Any premises less than 70 square metres will be able to decide for themselves whether to be completely smoking or non smoking.”
Under the amendments, under age minors would be strictly forbidden to enter designated smoking areas, even if accompanied by a chaperone.
“The current law is impractical and is not enforced,” noted Themistocleous, referring to the fact that many continue to smoke in bars and nightclubs and the laxity of enforcing the laws has come under scrutiny. According to police statistics in the first five months of the implementation of the bill, 2,521 people were charged with smoking offences in public indoor areas, the majority whilst at a bar.
Apart from its ineffectiveness the DISY deputy listed many more reasons why the bill should be amended.
“There is currently social exclusion of smokers from recreational areas. Also many places do not have outdoor areas and so smokers are forced on to the streets, which exposes them to extreme hot or cold weather conditions. This is especially dangerous for the elderly,” he said.
According to Themistocleous, in the four months following the introduction of the current ban, sales of tobacco increased compared to the same time period last year, from €53 million in 2009 to €58 million in 2010. “Of course this is due to the current law. People who need to leave the building to smoke will smoke two or three cigarettes.”
The amended bill is sure to be hailed by about 32 per cent of the Cypriot population who are smokers, as well as bar and night owners who claimed they had a 40 per cent drop in revenue in the first month of enforcement of the current law.
The proposals for the amendment in Cyprus are very similar to those seen implemented in Bulgaria where the full smoking ban was abolished on June 4.
