Jump to full article: Czech Happenings, 2004-12-20
Intro: The Chamber of Deputies adjourned a vote on the "anti-smoking" bill that bans smoking at various public places and restricts the sale of tobacco and alcohol.
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This means that the Chamber of Deputies will not make a decision on the bill before February.
The government bill has been in the lower house since March 2003 and it was to take effect last January already.
Disputes over its wording however have caused the deputies to fail to take the final vote even two years later.
The Czech Republic has for a long time been failing to curb alcohol drinking and smoking.
Alcohol consumption was the highest in the Czech Republic last year since 1997 and cigarettes consumption rose by 15.8 percent year-on-year last year.
A recently released European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD) showed that the Czech Republic is among European countries whose 16-year-old children have the biggest experience with alcohol, smoking and illegal drugs.
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The bill bans smoking in restaurants, with the exception of those which have wall-separated spaces for smokers with "sufficient ventilation."
The Trade and Tourism Association is opposed to the bill.
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