Over to Simon Clark for this. The petition (currently featured in the side bar of this blog) urges an amendment that would allow licensees to supply separate rooms for smoking in. Not ideal by any means (the implicit admission of secondary smoke as a recognised health hazard doesn't help matters) but even this proposal would knock more holes in the official dogma claiming that bans are really very unpopular with large sections of the population.
The Greek government knows this. They have decided to allow smoking in large clubs and casinos, but only if licensees pay tax of 200 euros per square metre of premises set aside for smoking. The minimum allowable size is 300 square metres, and smoking can occupy up to half. So venues can be expected to pay at least 30,000 euros. That's clearly meant to discourage, but it remains to be seen how it will work in practice since the smoking ban in Greece seems so badly enforced anyway.
1 comment:
I happen to be Greek myself and I applauded the decision of my government to amend the smoking ban there is there. Now I can smoke freely in bars and restaurants with no fear of anything as the friendly and hospitable atmosphere walked into our lives again.
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