Armenia’s anti-smoking law being elaborated
20.03.2018,
16:08
A bill drafted by Armenia’s ministry of health that would introduce an extensive ban on smoking in cafes, restaurants and other public places and impose heavy fines on people violating it is being elaborated, Aleksandr Bazarchyan, the head of the National Health Institute, said today.
YEREVAN, March 20. /ARKA/. A bill drafted by Armenia’s ministry of health that would introduce an extensive ban on smoking in cafes, restaurants and other public places and impose heavy fines on people violating it is being elaborated, Aleksandr Bazarchyan, the head of the National Health Institute, said today.
According to various estimates, around 60 percent of Armenia’s male population is regular smokers. The smoking rate among women is 3 percent. However, in the capital city Yerevan some 10 percent of women aged between 30 and 40 are smokers.
In retaliation to hefty fines envisaged by the bill the ministry says the move is part of a strategy to reduce the number of smokers as tobacco addiction is said to be the main cause of the country’s high incidence of lung cancer.
Under the current bill people caught smoking in cafes, bars, restaurants, government offices and other public places would be fined 250,000 drams ($520). A repeat offense would entail a fine of 500,000 drams ($1,040).
According to Bazarchyan, all the proposals the ministry has so far received will be studied in the next couple of months and the final version of the bill will be submitted to the parliament by the end of the year.
He said the proposed sizes of the fines will also be revised, but refused to specify. He also said that the bill will specify the structures to be vested with authority to examine how the would-be law is observed and to impose fines on violators.
Akaki Dzoidze, chairman of a Georgian parliamentary commission on health issues, who were present at the same news conference, noted that the size of the fine should really motivate to give up smoking.
As an example, he said in Georgia the fine for breaking the law for the first time is the equivalent of $50 and $100 for a repeat offense. For legal entities, it is $250 and $ 500 respectively. -0-
According to various estimates, around 60 percent of Armenia’s male population is regular smokers. The smoking rate among women is 3 percent. However, in the capital city Yerevan some 10 percent of women aged between 30 and 40 are smokers.
In retaliation to hefty fines envisaged by the bill the ministry says the move is part of a strategy to reduce the number of smokers as tobacco addiction is said to be the main cause of the country’s high incidence of lung cancer.
Under the current bill people caught smoking in cafes, bars, restaurants, government offices and other public places would be fined 250,000 drams ($520). A repeat offense would entail a fine of 500,000 drams ($1,040).
According to Bazarchyan, all the proposals the ministry has so far received will be studied in the next couple of months and the final version of the bill will be submitted to the parliament by the end of the year.
He said the proposed sizes of the fines will also be revised, but refused to specify. He also said that the bill will specify the structures to be vested with authority to examine how the would-be law is observed and to impose fines on violators.
Akaki Dzoidze, chairman of a Georgian parliamentary commission on health issues, who were present at the same news conference, noted that the size of the fine should really motivate to give up smoking.
As an example, he said in Georgia the fine for breaking the law for the first time is the equivalent of $50 and $100 for a repeat offense. For legal entities, it is $250 and $ 500 respectively. -0-
