Tobacco.org

• Exposure to secondhand smoke increases risk for Type 2 diabetes 

Chronic secondhand smoke exposure significantly increases the risk for Type 2 diabetes, show results from a study of Greek and Cypriot elderly men and women.

“While active smoking is strongly related to the development of diabetes mellitus, the role of exposure to secondhand smoke in the development of diabetes mellitus is unclear,” write Demosthenes Panagiotakos (Harokopio University, Athens, Greece) and colleagues in the journal Diabetic Medicine.

The researchers recruited 1190 elderly men and women aged 65 years or above from several Greek and Cypriot islands in the Mediterranean during 2005–2007.

Jump to full article »

• Smoking ban is re-examined 

The ban on smoking in most bars and cafes is not being adhered to nor applied properly, the government said yesterday, adding that it is launching a review of the law that was passed earlier this year after pressure from the European Union.

Health Minister Mariliza Xenogiannakopoulou said that she had noted “great gaps in the application of the smoking ban” and would be re-examining the legal framework supporting it.

At the end of last month, it was revealed that state inspectors had received more than 2,500 complaints about people violating the ban. It also emerged that some 2,200 cafe and bar owners in Athens had applied to turn their venues into all-smoking establishments but that none of the paperwork had been processed by authorities, in most cases because the applications were incomplete.

Xenogiannakopoulou said she wants to address such problems.

Jump to full article »

• Study: Smoking Lessens Taste Over Time  

A new study confirms what has already been likely known to most smokers - cigarettes lessen taste buds' abilities over time.

Greek scientists studied 62 Greek soldiers' tongues using electrical stimulation to test the taste threshold of the men and endoscopes to measure the number and shape of a certain taste bud. . . .The study was published in the journal BMC Ear, Nose and Throat Disorders.

Jump to full article »

• Passive smoking in pregnancy linked to asthma risk in children 

Children born to women exposed to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) during pregnancy face an increased risk for asthma symptoms in early life, researchers warn.

“Smoking during pregnancy has been shown to be a considerable risk factor for changes in growth and maturation of the fetal lungs and the later development of wheeze and asthma,” explain Paraskevi Xepapadaki (University of Athens, Greece) and team in the journal Pediatric Allergy and Immunology.

But they add it is not known whether passive smoking in pregnancy is associated with an increased risk for asthma and allergies in offspring.

To investigate, the researchers studied data on 2374 preschool children, aged between 1 and 6 years, from 115 nurseries in five counties of Greece.

Jump to full article »

• UPDATE 1-OPAP agents strike, say smoking ban hitting sales  

Agents for Greek betting firm OPAP (OPAr.AT), Europe's biggest, went on strike on Thursday over a tax on winnings and said a new smoking ban in public places in Greece had added to a fall in sales.

"There was already a drop due to the global downturn but with the smoking ban the fall came to 25-30 percent (year on year)," OPAP sales agents union head Kyriakos Toptsidis told Reuters.

The union, which represents about 5,300 retail outlets selling lottery cards and sports betting games across Greece, went on strike to protest a tax on betting winnings.

Jump to full article »

• In pictures: Greece smoking ban 

However, following a last-minute amendment to the law, thousands of restaurants and bars over 70 sq m (750 sq ft) will be able to build sealed-off smoking areas, as long as they remain "totally separate".

And smaller restaurants, like this one, can choose to ban non-smokers instead.

Smoking has long been ingrained in Greek culture. Actress, singer and later Greek Culture Minister Melina Mercouri was often pictured with a cigarette.

Aristotle Onassis, pictured here with Maria Callas, was also a famous smoker.

Jump to full article »

• Last-minute reprieve for offices ahead of Greek smoking ban 

Greece's health minister Friday announced last- minute exemptions for some offices and casinos, ahead of a public smoking ban to due come into force next week. The Greeks are considered one of the last bastions of smoking in the EU, and the proposed ban has already run into considerable opposition.

Initially, minister Dimitris Avramopoulos had said authorities will enforce without exception smoking restrictions in public places, including offices, restaurants and bars as of July 1.

But with less than a week to go Avramopoulos announced eleventh- hour exceptions regarding offices and casinos.

All offices employing more than 50 people will have the right to maintain designated smoking rooms.

Jump to full article »

• Greece to attempt indoor smoking ban  

Greece, Europe's heaviest smoking nation, will try to kick the habit by banning tobacco in indoor public places beginning July 1, but many doubt the ban will work.

Greece breaks all European records with more than 40 percent of the population smoking and six out of 10 being exposed to smoking at work, according to a European Union poll.

"We can't take it anymore. Where I work there are so many smokers,'' said Elisavet Vasileiadou, 55, a shoe-store employee in central Athens. "I hope the ban will be implemented for the sake of our health, but I think it will be difficult. It's not easy to tame Greeks, they'll find a way out.''

Greece has tried to ban smoking in hospitals and offices and requires restaurant and bar owners to designate smoking areas, but the measures have so far been widely ignored.

Jump to full article »

• Cigarette loving Greeks banned from smoking in the workplace  

The days of cigarette friendly Greece are about to go up in smoke as the government announced a ban against smoking in the workplace to take effect starting July 1. The new law will have a heavy impact on a nation where nearly 45 per cent of the adult population smokes, and where smoking in offices and cafes is seen as a traditional pastime.

Greece, one of Europe's heaviest smoking nations, had initially allowed for designated smoking rooms to be set aside in state and private businesses under the new law, but the minister of health ruled that option out on Thursday.

"As of July 1 no smoking will be allowed anywhere in the workplace," said Health Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos.

He said the government will only pass a partial ban for restaurants and bars, saying smaller establishements will become strictly non-smoking but larger businesses were allowed to designate smoking and non-smoking areas.

Under the new law, smoking will be banned in other public places such as schools, universities, state offices, hospitals and on all forms of public transport.

Jump to full article »

• Anti-smoking campaign begins 

Health Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos yesterday launched a six-month campaign to promote the enforcement of severe restrictions on smoking in public places from July 1, as a new study showed that six in 10 Greek smokers back the planned measures.

"With the drafting of a national action plan against smoking, our country has acquired a targeted and strategic policy for the promotion and safeguarding of public health," Avramopoulos told a conference.

The minister stressed that the new restrictions would be enforced strictly but also appealed to citizens to contribute to efforts aimed at bringing Greece into line with European Union standards on curbing the risks posed by passive smoking. He noted that 20,000 Greeks die of smoking-related diseases every year, adding that the habit costs the National Health System 2.14 billion euros annually. . . .

The country's bars and restaurants will be the hardest hit by the measures. Those whose premises are smaller than 70 square meters will have to choose whether to be characterized as exclusively smoking or nonsmoking establishments.

Jump to full article »

• Greece launches anti-smoking campaign ahead of July ban 

Greece, one of Europe's heaviest smoking nations, on Wednesday launched a six month anti-smoking campaign ahead of a ban outlawing smoking in most public places from July 1. The new ban should have a big impact in a nation where nearly 45 per cent of the adult population smokes, and where smoking in offices and cafes is seen as both traditional and acceptable.

"With the drafting of a national action plan against smoking, our country has acquired a targeted and strategic policy for the promotion and safeguarding of public health," said Health Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos.

In fact the ban is only partial. Under the new law, smoking will be banned in public places such as schools, universities, state offices, hospitals and on all forms of public transport.

Private offices, restaurant and bar owners will be required to designate smoking and non-smoking areas

Jump to full article »

• Feeling the pinch? Try a Greek cigar 

Greek households are cutting expenses and spending less time at restaurants or hair salons. But one local luxury is defying the downturn: cigars.

Business is good at Domenico Cigars, a tiny factory in central Greece that got its cigar seeds and secrets from Cuba.

Greece's unlikely cigar industry started five years ago in a valley 185 miles northwest of Athens, where conditions are ideally hot and damp. Last year set a record for output — still a modest 70,000 cigars.

Andreas Haralambous, head of the Agriculture Ministry's regional tobacco department, said conditions at Domenico are similar to Cuba's famed Pinar Del Rio region, where the strong-flavored Partagas tobacco is grown. . . .

Tsouvelakidis and local Greek officials traveled to Cuba in 2003, after farmers grew tired of a price slump in cigarette tobacco.

Jump to full article »

• Greek smokers face high disease rates  

Greeks, known as being among Europe's heaviest smokers, suffer high rates of pulmonary disease, with non-smokers also facing health risks, statistics published showed.

According Constantinos Gourgoulianis, the head of Greece's Pneumonological Society, 8.4 per cent of all Greeks suffer from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease although in rural areas the number rises to 15.1 per cent.

The news for urban residents is not much better as Athenians who are non-smokers actually inhale the equivalent of up to four cigarettes a day from other people who do smoke, according to a report published in the Greek daily Kathimerini newspaper.

Greece has just over a year to go before a ban outlaws the habit in all public places, including restaurants, bars and offices as of January 1, 2010.

Jump to full article »

• Greece's parliament approves ban on smoking in public places  

The Greek parliament has approved a ban on smoking in public places, including all restaurants, bars and public transport, from January 1 2010, Greek media reported.

Greece, which is reportedly in top five of the heaviest smokers in the European Union and has one of the highest rates of smoking in the world, made the move at the same time that a Croatian ban on smoking in public places came into effect. Croatia, however, has allowed a six-month grace period for restaurants and bars to obey the legislation, while hospitals and government institutions are required to comply immediately.

Jump to full article »

• Bulgarian FC President Arrested in Greece over Cigarette Smuggling in UK 

The President of Bulgaria's Belasitsa football club Kostadin Hadzhiivanov, dubbed Kotse Matsa, was arrested Tuesday in Greece over cigarette smuggling in the UK. Photo by gong.bg

The President of Bulgaria's Belasitsa football club Kostadin Hadzhiivanov, dubbed Kotse Matsa, was arrested Tuesday in Greece over cigarette smuggling in the UK.

Jump to full article »