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Excerpts from: New rules for chain-smoking Greeks: where there's smoke, there's possible fines

By CHRISTINA XENOS, Associated Press [09/29/02]

ATHENS, Greece - Warning: smoking in Greece can now cause fines.

Greece's chain-smoking culture is about to clash with new rules that set wide
restrictions on where it's acceptable to light up.

The bans, which begin Tuesday, mark the first major effort to curb some of
Europe's most diehard smokers, who are accustomed to puffing away nearly
anywhere they please.

The new rules prohibits smoking in most public places — from restaurants to
waiting rooms — except for designated areas. Also on the quit list: health care
facilities, public transportation and taxis.

Sights familiar to Greeks, such as a smoldering butt dangling from a cabbie's
lips, are now subject to fines of up to 90 euros ($88). Anti-smoking advocates
say it's about time.

Nearly 45 percent of Greeks over age 15 smoke daily, according to European
Union ( news - web sites) figures, the highest rate among member countries
and among the top in the world.

Reining in this cigarette-loving nation will not be easy.

"This won't be for everyone," said George Zarifis, a worker at an Athens travel
agency with an ashtray on every desk. "Greeks can't go without smoking, they
will not accept it."

Older anti-smoking campaigns were widely ignored, with even members of
Greece's parliament dismissing orders to put out their cigarettes during
debates.

The latest ban is part of a government drive to clean up the capital's image as a
noisy and polluted city ahead of the 2004 Olympics. The games, of course, will
be tobacco free.

Athenians issued a collective gasp when traffic police recently began handing
out tickets to jaywalkers and authorities pulled down billboards considered
eyesores in the city center.

Wider smoking restrictions are also coming.

By Dec. 1, restaurants and cafes — havens for smokers — will limit smoking
areas to 50 percent of their establishments. And starting in January, tobacco
advertising on billboards, kiosks and movie theaters will be outlawed.

Only "traditional" coffee houses and nightclubs will be exempt from the
crackdown.

"It will be hard to enforce, especially in the beginning," said Thanassis Kiritis,
manager of an Athens "taverna," a traditional Greek restaurant.

But Greeks have shown they are capable of obeying the rules. Riders have
followed a ban on smoking in Athens subway, which opened in 2000. The
longest ride, however, is about 15 minutes.

Many government departments say they still have not received instructions to
enforce the ban. But some people are pleased to see smoking stopped.

"People aren't allowed in with cigarettes," said Maria Drakoula, manager of
Athens' central post office. "If we see it we tell them to put it out."

Besides its chain-smoking status, Greece is one of the EU's biggest tobacco
producers.

Agriculture Minister Giorgos Drys has promised to protect tobacco farmers
despite the government's anti-smoking crusade.

Earlier this year, EU farm ministers voted to continue subsidies for tobacco
farmers in Greece and Italy. The EU spends 44 billion euros ($38 billion) a year
on farm aid, which accounts for just under half its annual budget.