Tobacco control

In the European Region of the World Health Organization (WHO) only in Bulgaria the women who smoke are more than men. This was what Professor Mihail Okolyyski from the office of the world organization in Bulgaria said.

He said that in this region 28% of the adult population smoke and he also pointed out that people who smoke have a higher risk of getting a heart attack.

Prime Minister Boyko Borisov announced he is opposed to the return of the division in establishments of smoking area and non-smoking saloon.
 

VIENNA (Reuters) - Austria's lower house of parliament voted on Thursday to scrap an impending ban on smoking in bars and restaurants, backing the coalition government despite opposition from health campaigners and opposition parties.

The health ministry is starting to listen about proposals from the non-government sector to impose more drastic sanctions for breaching the ban on smoking in indoor public places. In the event of a systematic breach of the smoking ban, the facility will be shut down for a specified period of time. This includes amendments to the Health Act, prepared by the Ministry of Health.

For 10 years - from 2007 to 2016, illegal cigarette trade in Bulgaria has accumulated revenues for the criminal world between 2.5 and 3.5 billion leva, a report by the Institute for Market Economics (IME) writes.

Greece's health ministry has asked the police to stigmatize punishment for citizens who smoke in their cars or in the presence of children.

The request was made on the basis of the Law on the banning of cigarette smoking in public places. The law provides for a fine of 1,500 euros for everybody who smokes in his private car and 3,000 euros for smoking in an official or state car.

Cigarettes will have new prices and new excise labels. The prices of some brands have already risen, reports bTV

The reason for the surge is the changes in excise duty on tobacco products. The most common cigarettes that cost 5 leva will reach 5.20 leva. However, this is increase in price is also for the lower class brands.

The European Commission adopted on Friday a legal act requiring a 'track-and-trace' system for tobacco products to tackle smuggling and tax avoidance, EUOBSERVER reported.

“The Commission welcomes all measures taken by EU countries that deglamorise smoking, and reduce uptake, particularly amongst young people,” European Commission spokesperson Anca Paduraru said.

While in Europe in recent years there has been a tendency of a gradual reduction in the number of smokers in restaurants and bars, there is more and more in our country, one of the reasons being that the ban is not applied seriously. This is what CBT Chief of Oncology in Sofia and former Health Minister Dr. Stefan Konstantinov and Ms.