New Law Bans Smoking in Open in Shopping Centres

Smoking will not be allowed in open air areas at shopping centres in Slovakia and higher fines will be imposed on anybody violating the smoking ban as of July, under a law that the parliament passed yesterday, Daily Slovakia portal reports.

“The law does not focus on the persecution of smokers but on the protection of non-smokers against the consequences of passive smoking,” Health Minister Zuzana Zvolenska said. She said many families spend their free time in shopping centres. The law is needed to protect children, Zvolenska said.

Parliament nodded to the proposal that smoking would be allowed in special closed spaces, from which smoke cannot leak to other areas.

Most cafes at shopping centres do not meet this condition, however, according to Daily Slovakia.

Slovakia restricted smoking in public buildings and imposed higher taxes on cigarettes in the past. Pubs must have at least half of its area reserved for non-smokers and the smoking area must be separated from it. Until now, this regulation has not applied to cafes and restaurants in shopping centres.

In 2012, the state budget received 635 million euros in consumption tax on tobacco products, which was 7.5 percent of the total volume of tax revenues. According to the Eurobarometer survey, 23 percent of Slovaks are smokers, which is below the EU average. According to available data, the only EU country where restaurants without areas for non-smokers can operate is the Czech Republic.