Czech smoking ban could be law this time
Proposed more than once in the past but always shelved, a ban on smoking in pubs and restaurants could finally become law in the Czech Republic after legislation was presented by the health ministry.
The plans from Health Minister Leoš Heger have been criticized by the Hotels and Restaurants Association of the Czech Republic, although many bar and restaurant owners support the moves.
“About 60 per cent of restaurants are nonsmoking, or they have a completely separate area for smokers. What we are saying is that it makes no sense to make it become law. This is something that opposes, in our eyes, the freedom of open business,” said Václav Stárek, the association’s president.
The organization argues that rules introduced two-and-a-half years ago requiring nonsmoking sections to be enclosed, and which led many restaurant owners to spend heavily on modifications, are sufficient.
Read the full story at The Prague Post.
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(Photo: Romana Ferrer)
