I'm late with this because it hasn't previously been mentioned anywhere in the English-speaking media, but a brief lament in the British Medical Journal has alerted me to Poland's rejection of a total smoking ban.
Over to the Polksie Radio website for the details...
MPs stub out complete smoking ban
The lower house of parliament (Sejm) has voted for a much more liberal amendment to a bill banning smoking in public places in Poland, allowing areas in pubs and clubs where smokers can light up a cigarette.
The vote in the Sejm yesterday evening - carried by 217 for, 165 against and 48 abstentions - came a shock to the parliamentary health committee which had recommended a total smoking ban in public. Under the new amendment, it will be possible in small restaurants and pubs for the owner to decide whether a smoking ban would be in place. In premises over 100 square meters a separate smoking area must be provided. If the premises with an area of over 100 meters has more than one room, the owner decides which of them is a smoking area. Smoking rooms would also available in schools, universities, hospitals, and workplaces.
The rules would not prohibit the sale of e-cigarettes.
Grzegorz Dolniak, the deputy head of the Civic Platform in the Sejm said after the vote that a complete ban would be a “dead law” and probably unenforceable. “It is necessary to preserve common sense and also give a chance to non-smokers who do not want to be exposed to passive smoking.” He also said a complete ban would hurt businesses.
This is yet another example of a European country rejecting the Anglo-Saxon policy of zero tolerance. The Poles have used "common sense" to produce a "liberal amendment". They have respected property rights while accommodating both smokers and nonsmokers. It works in the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Belgium, Greece, Germany etc. etc.
Apart from a handful of well-paid and highly vocal zealots, who could find such a system objectionable?
