Jump to full article: Agence France Presse (AFP) (fr), 2007-06-01
Intro: Iceland on Friday introduced a total ban on smoking in public places amid protests from bar and restaurant owners who feel the prohibition is too severe and poorly executed.
"The authorities didn't give us any opportunities to create a smoking area outside bars and restaurants so most people have to resort to smoking on the pavement," Arnar Thor Gislason, owner of a popular Reykjavik bar and restaurant, told AFP.
Due to everchanging Icelandic weather conditions and a fairly chilly climate even in summer, many bar owners have set up gas heaters on pavements and some restaurants will be lending blankets to customers.
Most venues have increased their staff of doormen and bouncers because of the expected increase in the number of guests going in and out to smoke.
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