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September 16th, 2009
The Croatian government just can’t seem to find the right balance. At the beginning of this year an anti-smoking law banned lighting up in all bars, cafes and restaurants. Despite the obvious health benefits, the lucrative hospitality industry went into overdrive campaigning against the law. As the Croatian economy is touch-and-go right now, the government was under a lot of pressure to bolster anything that kept people spending money. So they caved in–more or less.
Last week a new proposal was cobbled together that aims to satisfy anyone addicted to smoking in bars. Restaurants and all public places will remain smoke-free but bars have a little more slack. Bars larger than 50 square meters must separate their smoking and non-smoking areas and improve their ventilation systems. Smaller places can decide whether or not to allow smoking, but if they do they must ventilate and ventilate well. Plus they must put up signs warning that smoking is dangerous. As if you didn’t know.
See more on smoking in Croatia.
