Smoking

Changes are being made to the smoking law in an attempt to close loopholes in anti-smoking legislation that allow essentially closed spaces to be called outdoors.

According to information, the Ministry of Health will attempt in the first quarter of 2023 to proceed with changes in cooperation with the relevant ministries.

Over the next three months the Health Ministry will seek to close the loopholes in the anti-smoking legislation that allow closed areas to be characterized as open-air, thus allowing people to smoke.

More specifically, the smoking of cigarettes will be expressly banned in cafes, bars, restaurants etc that are closed with canopies, plastic sheeting and other protective barriers.

About 40% of young people (between 15 and 29 years old) in Bulgaria smoke traditional cigarettes practically every day, including 14% of young people under the age of 18 who are smokers. This is shown by a sociological survey by "Gallup International Balkan" commissioned by the Ministry of Youth and Sports, conducted in October.

Greece's anti-smoking law is heavy in symbolism. The law, which banned smoking in indoor public places and introduced stiff fines, was introduced several times before being finally implemented in practice.

Juul Labs will pay $438.5 million to settle a probe by 34 US states that found the vaping company marketed to underage smokers, state officials have announced.    

Under the agreement, which is still being finalized, Juul would provide payments over the next 6-10 years to individual U.S. states and pledge to not employ cartoons in ads or otherwise market to younger consumers.    

“We got holy-smoked that there’s possibly a tree that’s leaning toward the equator wherever it grows”

Turkey is working on new regulations against hookahs, the country's president has said, putting the long-disputed hookahs and the hookah-cafes on the main agenda of the country.

"Hookahs are more harmful than cigarettes. We are making some preparations to save our people from this harm," Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said in a meeting with youth on May 31, World No Tobacco Day.

Some 250,000 Turkish citizens have quit smoking with the help of "Alo 171," a phone line connecting smokers with the health officials who help them to quit, the country's Health Ministry has said.

In a statement issued for May 31, World No Tobacco Day, the ministry highlighted that more than 700,000 people called the line in 2021 and more than one third succeeded in quitting.

Every year on May 31, World No Smoking Day is celebrated at the initiative of the World Health Organization (WHO).

The initiative is held around the world, highlighting the health risks associated with tobacco use and calling for effective policies to reduce consumption levels.

Nearly 2,300 adolescents and young adults became new tobacco smokers in the US over the period of 2017-2019 with the total number of users under 21 years of age vaping (using e-cigarettes) rising to over 1 million by 2019, accordingly to new published research.