Jump to full article: AP, 2009-07-19
Author: SUZAN FRASER (AP)
Intro: Patrons of a usually smoke-filled hookah bar stepped outside to light up Sunday as Turkey extended a ban on indoor public smoking to bars, restaurants and coffeehouses.
The ban in this nation of smokers came into effect at midnight Saturday despite protests from bar and coffeehouse owners who fear it will ruin businesses that have already been hit by the economic crisis.
"The country woke up this morning having carried out a cigarette revolution," an editorial in the newspaper Radikal read.
"Smokeless life has begun," was the headline on the Milliyet paper.
In Ankara's Sakarya street — famed for its fast food outlets, bars and beer halls — owners staged a brief protest saying many of the businesses there risked bankruptcy.
Jump to full article » |