• France Considers Smoking Ban 

"Sartre smoked. Colette, George Sand, Marguerite Duras, [André] Gide -- they all smoked," said Jean Claude Blondel, manager of the Café Flore. "We have a long history of great thinking here, [with] coffee and cigarettes."

Nevertheless, the anti-smoking forces are swirling in Europe. Ireland, Italy, Malta, Norway and Sweden have already banned smoking in public places. Finland, Poland, Latvia and Hungary are expected to follow. And in the United States, several states and major cities -- such as Boston, Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco -- have smoking bans in place. Montgomery County has a ban in place, and the District is considering one.

In 1991, the French government passed a law requiring restaurants and bars to provide nonsmoking areas. . . .

In France, the business of selling cigarettes is reserved for the 29,000 buralistes , or tobacconists, who are licensed to sell tobacco in France's bar-tabacs . . . .

The economic impact of smoking bans is unclear. In Italy, tobacco sales fell 20 percent following the ban on public smoking in January. In Ireland, restaurant revenues decreased around 7.5 percent in the first six months after its smoking ban began in March 2004 but have since begun to recover, according to studies by the Smoke Free Europe partnership. And researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health found that a smoking ban in Massachusetts did not adversely affect business for restaurants and bars.

Nevertheless, Andre Daguen, head of the Trade Union for Hotel Industries, worries about the effect of the ban on his members.

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Ramadan Helps Many to Quit Smoking 

One of the many benefits of Ramadan is that not only does the sale of cigarettes go down, but many Muslims find it a help in giving up smoking. Even "passive fasters" speak of benefiting from the holy month.

Studies in Saudi Arabia have shown that cost was not an important factor in the decision to kick smoking. "Ramadan does not cost a person anything, instead it gives him a lot, including a chance to give up the habit," said Muhammad Ali, who used to smoke two packets a day.

"I made many resolutions to give up smoking," he said. "One Ramadan I refrained from lighting up after iftar. It was a bit difficult to control the urge for a few days, but I resisted, and by the end of the month, the habit ended forever," he added.

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President Gayoom appeals to public to take on responsibility for safeguarding non-smokers from becoming victims of diseases related to passive inhalation of smoke 

President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom has appealed to the public to take on the responsibility for safeguarding non-smokers form becoming victims of diseases related to passive inhalation of smoke. The President made this appeal in a message sent on the occasion of World No Tobacco Day, which was marked on Thursday. The message was read out by the Minister of Health, Ahmed Abdullah, at a meeting held on Thursday afternoon at Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital to mark the day. In his message the President said that smoking at public gatherings, which poses discomfort and grave dangers to the health of others, was a distasteful act judging by the standards of a decent, progressive and civilized society like Maldives. . .

The President underscored the high priority given by the government to reduce the level of smoking in Maldives from a very early stage and pointed out that as a result, many of the measures being promoted by the World Health Organisation to reduce smoking have already been implemented in Maldives.

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Guraadhoo women quit smoking