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Croatian smoking ban reversal could ignite trade 

Smokers on holiday in Croatia can light up again in public from today after the country's smoking ban was overturned.

One in three Croatians smoke and, according to restaurant and cafe owners, so do many of the visitors to the Adriatic coast.

It is hoped the reversal of the ban will lead to busier bars and pubs, which could improve the holiday atmosphere for many tourists in the country.

Morena Tolj, who supports the government's decision, said: "Being a heavy smoker I preferred to stay at home than to go out and abstain."

Last month online magazine In2Town recommended Dubrovnik, in the south of Croatia, as one of the "most beautiful" spots in Europe.

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• Smokers in Croatia go back in bars as tobacco ban lifted - temporarily 

On April 1, Croatia banned indoors smoking in all public places, and bar owners say the restriction has halved their profits and forced many of them to close. . . .

So the government announced Friday that it will ease the ban, allowing spacious cafes and bars to have separate smoking areas, while smaller ones can decide whether to allow smoking or not.

Smoking places will, however, have to install extensive ventilation systems.

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• Croatia backs down on smoking ban  

Croatia has made a U-turn on a law banning smoking in public after buckling to pressure from cafe and restaurant owners who told the government it was ruining their businesses.

The parliament on Thursday adopted an amended law that again allows smoking in cafes and restaurants in specially designated smoking zones covering no more than a fifth of any premises. The remaining four-fifths must be kept for non-smokers.

Cafes smaller than 50 square metres (538 square feet), however, will be allowed to decide whether to become a smoking or non-smoking establishment after meeting certain criteria.

Ever since the law banning smoking in all public places was introduced in May, managers of cafes and restaurants have pressed the government to amend it.

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Croatia's smoking ban revised 

Croatia's pro-smoking lobby scored a victory last Thursday (September 10th), when parliament adopted an amendment to the controversial smoking ban. The amendment allows smokers to light up in designated sections in cafes, as long as they have a proper ventilation system, and post visible signs that warn of the dangers of smoking.

Restaurants, hospitals, schools, offices, and bars do not fall under the umbrella of the amendment, and smoking is still prohibited in those areas.

The amendment comes after an uprising of cafe and restaurant owners who claim their businesses have nearly collapsed since the law, one of the most restrictive smoking bans in Europe, was implemented in May. . . .

Relieved cafe owners hope the more liberal law will bring smokers back into their establishments.

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• Smokers can hit the cafes again  

The Croatian government moved on Thursday to loosen a controversial public smoking ban enforced only four months ago, after cafe owners complained it was crippling business.

According to a new proposal, due in parliament later this month, smoking in cafes will be allowed in special spaces that must be larger than 10 square meters (12 sq yards) but must not cover more than 20 percent of the overall premises.

The cafes unable to meet those conditions will be able to cater for smokers if they secure a proper ventilation system, a change likely to be welcomed by the country's more than one million smokers, or almost 25 percent of the population.

The smoking ban remains in force for restaurants, hospitals, schools and airports.

Cafe and restaurant owners launched a petition in June, at the start of the summer tourist season, demanding changes to the law, enforced in May, which they said was hurting business already weakened by a recession.

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• Croatia considers loosening smoking ban : Health 

The Croatian government is considering loosening a recent ban on smoking after complaints from restaurant and bar owners who have reported 80-per-cent business losses due to the ban, Croatian Health Minister Darko Milinovic said Thursday. In early May, Croatia began enforcing a ban on smoking in most indoor areas and public places, with psychiatric hospitals an exemption. Doctors explained that mentally ill smokers could become agitated without their nicotine fix.

Owners of bars and restaurants complained that the ban was keeping most customers away. The owners say the decline is 80 per cent, but official statistics are still unavailable.

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• Croatia's Smoking Ban Takes Off and Takes Ashtrays Away 

Stop Smoking- the staunch slogan of the Croatian Government slammed against "Stop Smoking Ban" clamor of coffee shop owners after the Croatian government implemented its strict law against smoking on indoor public places on May 6, 2009.

The government is bent to execute strict "No Smoking" law to safeguard the physical health and well being of Croatian nationals from the hazards of smoking. Prior to the new law, the government's media propaganda against smoking apparently, did not create much of an impact- thus, had fallen into deaf ears.

Restaurants, coffee shops, ice-cream parlors and malls from run-of-the- mill to high end food service joints were filled with employees taking a break from work, friends engaging in a tête-à-tête, football aficionados, coffee drinkers including mothers with tag- along -babies in strollers. These coffee shops habitués either active or passive smokers, oblivious to the dangers of smoking frequent to the coffee shops at any time of the day as part of their daily routine schedule.

However, on the 6th of May 2009, the Croatian government blew its whistle and put a big stop sign to smoking. As the law stipulates -those who are caught smoking in an indoor public place shall be slapped with 1000 Kuna fine for smoker and 15,000 Kuna for business owner to ensure that Croatian public knows that the government means business this time (no pun intended.) Since the Croatian government guards public places keenly watching for smokers who consist of more than half of the coffee shops' costumers started to wane their regular visits to coffee shops for their daily fresh espresso and cigarette ritual.

Thereby, sudden drops of profit sales have recently been the cause of ire of food service entrepreneurs that consequently precipitated a protest among coffee shops owners and restaurateurs requesting the government to relax the smoking ban law.

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• Croat cafe owners want smoking ban to be optional 

Croatia's cafe and restaurant owners launched a petition on Wednesday to modify a law banning smoking in public, saying it is crippling businesses already weakened by recession.

The government enforced the law on May 6, much to the displeasure of Croatia's one million smokers.

They make up a third of the 4.4 million population in this European Union candidate country, where cigarettes had been taken for granted for years.

The guild of cafe and restaurant owners organised the signing of a petition in all major towns. It will ask the government to allow smaller premises to choose if they want to cater for smokers or non-smokers.

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• Croatian smoking ban sparks debate among bloggers  

Croatia began enforcing a smoking ban in public places on May 6th. The law allows smoking outside facilities -- offices, bars, restaurants, and cafes -- but not indoors.

While some employers are lukewarm about the law, restaurant and bar owners are outraged, fearing that they will lose clientele. Restaurateurs have reportedly started an initiative to put Croatia on the list of countries that discriminate against smokers.

The blog community is divided, yet passionate, about the issue. Non-smokers are exhilarated, painting the law as a very positive step towards improving the nation's health, while smokers consider it repressive.

Nepusac praises the "healthiest law that was ever passed" in Croatia and warns that the tobacco industry is "trying to act through the restaurant and bar owners" to reverse the law. He finds their attempt outrageous, claiming they "promote the old myth that smoking is something entirely normal while non-smoking is not". He calls on everybody to support the government's stand, which reflects "civilisation, awareness and societal health".

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Restauranteurs want changes in the anti-smoking law 

The catering guild of the Croatian Chamber of Trades and Crafts and the Zagreb Restaurant Association has sent an open letter to the government.

The letter asks for changes in the new anti-smoking law that went into effect ten days ago in the name of 16,000 Croatian restauranteurs.

They claim there has been a decline in customer numbers since the new anti-smoking law went into effect and want changes in it to bolster the Croatian economy and tourism.

The restauranteurs believe the government should let them decide whether they will be smoking or non-smoking establishments. They want bars larger than 50 square meters to have the right to reserve 30 per cent of their area for smokers.

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Coffee shop caters only to smokers 

An entrepreneur in Croatia has opened a coffee shop for smokers to demonstrate opposition to the new anti-smoking law.

Rajko Ivanovic from the eastern town of Djakovo has placed a sign in front of his Pan Coffee Shop saying "For Smokers Only".

He told daily newspaper Vecernji List he wanted to demonstrate his opposition to the new anti-smoking law, which bans smoking in coffee shops.

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• Caterers Will Sue Croatia Over Smoking Ban  

ZAGREB, CROATIA – Since May 6, when the smoking ban was applied in all catering objects, a drastic drop of business has been recorded, the Guild of Caterers and Tourism Employees, as well as the Croatian Chamber of Commerce`s Trade Guild told a press conference, without announcing any specific figures on the drop.

- The law was planning to protect non-smokers, but the legislative body did not have caterers in mind. I do not support violating the law, but I understand the colleague from Slovenia, who paced a sign reading “Smoking allowed” on his cafe – Mato Topic said.

The Croatian Chamber of Commerce is preparing a Constitutional lawsuit against Croatia, because the same conditions for all caterers have not been introduced. Those objects which do not have terraces, where smoking is allowed, cannot host smokers.

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• Tough anti-smoking measures split Croatia 

Croatia now has one of the strictest anti-tobacco laws in the Balkans region and not everyone is happy about it.

"I am aware that cigarettes are not good for health and can bother others, but this is my luxury, a moment of relaxation," said Zeljko, a 40-year-old male nurse, sitting outside a Zagreb cafe.

"In the Balkans, it is also a question of mentality," he boasted, brandishing a coffee in one hand and a cigarette in the other.

The World Health Organization backs this up. Thirty to 40 percent of all adults in the Balkans are inveterate smokers, its figures show, hooked on a habit the WHO -- which marks "World No Tobacco Day" on Sunday -- considers a major cause of premature death.

But owners of Croatian drinking holes fear the new ban on public smoking has come at the worst possible time for their businesses, with the country already grappling with the global financial crisis.

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• Croatia's bar owners protest anti-smoking law 

Croatian bar and restaurant owners protested on Saturday a new tough law banning smoking in public places claiming it was ruining business and needs to be amended.

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Since the anti-smoking law was adopted earlier this month, bars and restaurants, especially those without terraces, reported a "significant decrease in business," an association of some 16,000 owners said in a statement, according to the state-run HINA news agency.

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The law should be amended to "prevent the collapse of the sector," they said.

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• Smoking ban angers cafes, smokers in Croatia  

After decades of a lifestyle in which cigarettes were taken for granted, a smoking ban in all public places took effect, causing a major shock for the smoking population, which amounts to one third of the country's 4.4. million people.

Fines ranging from 1,000 kuna ($180) for smokers to 15,000 kuna, or three average monthly salaries, for owners of premises allowing it, made sure the law would be observed, at least in the early days.

"Today is day one and the club is empty. Everyone used to be smoking in here," said Davor Grubic, who runs a small cafe near the popular Komedija theater in downtown Zagreb.

"They should give restaurants and bars an option to decide whether they want to host smokers or non-smokers. This is not going to work," he predicted.

Cafes in downtown Zagreb, usually swarming with people, were deserted. Instead, smokers were puffing outside, wondering what to do when winter comes.

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