http://www.tobacco.org/newsfeed/country/cyprus.rss Latest top tobacco news headlines en-us http://www.cyprus-mail.com/smoking/man-mission-clearing-clubs/20110522 http://tobacco.org/news/320331.html Sixteen months on, however, the island seems to have lapsed into its old ways. Many clubs and pubs are as smoky as ever and some club owners mobilised to attempt to swing today’s parliamentary elections by promising to boost votes to pro-smoking candidates. The Pancyprian Restaurants and Entertainment Establishments Owners Association (PASIKA), which employs up to 14,000 staff in 3200 venues, said at least half of their employees were eligible Cypriot voters who could support an amendment to the law. However, smoking is not just an issue for night-time venues: in recent months Sunday Mail reporters have seen people smoking inside Parliament (away from the authorised atrium cafe area), in the Nicosia central post office and in the Archbishop Makarios athletics stadium. For one Larnaca resident, the final straw came when he found a smoking room in the Larnaca General Hospital, from which smoke spread to the room where his mother was receiving treatment. “I learned that they smoke in Larnaca General Hospital when my mother was sick. I smelled smoke when I went there, and when I opened one door I found a nurse smoking - I smelled it all night. The police station is only 100 metres away,” said Pantelis Panteli. For months 47-year-old Panteli, who quit smoking in 1986, has been on a lone quest to highlight the law’s failure and what he perceives to be reluctance by police to enforce it. Cyprus Mail Cyprus Sun, 22 May 2011 04:00:00 GMT http://www.cyprus-mail.com/features/are-price-increases-enough-deter-smokers/20101219 http://tobacco.org/news/312569.html ANTI-SMOKING campaigners are hopeful that last week’s 20 per cent increase in the price of cigarettes will finally push the 29 per cent of the population who smoke regularly into quitting. The bill that was rushed through parliament on December 10 may have been motivated by the need to increase annual revenue by an estimated €31 million, but Stelios Sikallides, executive secretary of the anti-smoking lobby of the Anti-Cancer Association Cyprus, hopes the benefits will be far more long reaching. “Of course it will affect smokers as international studies show that, without a doubt, as the price of cigarettes increases, consumption decreases,” said Stelios Sikallides, executive secretary of the anti-smoking lobby of the Anti-Cancer Association Cyprus. Cyprus Mail Cyprus Sun, 19 Dec 2010 05:00:00 GMT http://www.cyprus-mail.com/cyprus/house-rushes-through-tobacco-tax-hike/20101211 http://tobacco.org/news/312265.html PARLIAMENT yesterday approved a substantial hike in the price of tobacco with immediate effect, which is expected to bring state coffers additional annual revenue of €31 million. The increase was officially announced on Thursday and the bill was rushed through parliament as a matter of urgency yesterday to prevent retailers stockpiling cigarettes and profiteering if the increases had come into effect on January 1. Despite the immediate effect of the new tax, retail prices should remain the same until Monday when the law is published in the Government Gazette, and new batches go through customs. A finance ministry official told the Cyprus Mail that consumers can report to the authorities any retailers selling at the new price before Monday. Cyprus Mail Cyprus Sat, 11 Dec 2010 05:00:00 GMT http://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/early/2010/11/25/tc.2010.036848.abstract?papetoc http://tobacco.org/news/311454.html Results The prevalence of lost autonomy was 40% among subjects who smoked 1 or 2 days/month and 41% among subjects who averaged less than one cigarette/day and increased in a dose-response pattern. Regression models derived from the Cyprus data were replicated by the Greek data. Conclusions Two national surveys confirm previous reports of difficulty with smoking cessation with infrequent smoking. Since loss of autonomy is universally recognised as a core feature of addiction, our data indicate that young adolescents experience symptoms of nicotine addiction with infrequent tobacco use. Tobacco Control Greece Cyprus Thu, 25 Nov 2010 05:00:00 GMT http://www.cyprus-mail.com/cyprus/smoking-ban-too-severe-say-mps/20101016 http://tobacco.org/news/309179.html A NUMBER of MPs have co-signed a law proposal to amend the current smoking ban, which hopes to offer venues the right to have separate smoking areas. According to DISY MP Andreas Themistocleous, who prepared the proposal, the current ban is not being adhered to, with members of the public smoking freely in entertainment venues – especially bars and nightclubs - in direct violation of the law, which came into effect in January this year. The deputy felt it should be up to the public to decide whether they want to smoke or not – as long as they are not affecting anyone else. Cyprus Mail Cyprus Sat, 16 Oct 2010 04:00:00 GMT http://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/early/2010/07/30/tc.2009.029769.abstract?papetoc http://tobacco.org/news/305504.html Background The purpose of this study was to examine attitudes towards attempts to limit second-hand smoke (SHS) in five Eastern European nations. . . . Results Across nations, there is more support for smoking bans in offices and indoor work spaces and indoor public space as opposed to restaurants and bars and pubs. Personal smoking behaviours are linked strongly with the smoking bans. Most importantly, it is specific knowledge about the health dangers of smoking which fosters support for indoor smoking bans. Conclusion Policy implications suggest that government and the media must disseminate accurate information about the harm of smoking to broader segments of the population to gain support for policies that affect the dangers of SHS in these nations. Tobacco Control Turkey Bulgaria Cyprus Croatia Romania Eastern Europe Fri, 30 Jul 2010 04:00:00 GMT http://www.cyprus-mail.com/cyprus/cheap-cigarettes-stay-despite-ailing-public-finances/20100630 http://tobacco.org/news/303973.html THE GOVERNMENT has no plans to raise cigarette duty to meet the EU average, despite having the heaviest smokers in the union, high instances of heart disease and a huge gap in public finances, sources in the Finance Ministry said yesterday. According to a Eurostat report released this week, the cost of tobacco products in Cyprus is 12 per cent below the EU average at a time when the burgeoning budget deficit is over €1 billion and smoking is a leading cause of death and healthcare costs. According to one anti-smoking campaigner, it is imperative that the government follow the lead of other EU countries, such as the UK, where increased taxes have successfully deterred smokers. Cyprus Mail Cyprus Wed, 30 Jun 2010 04:00:00 GMT http://www.cyprus-mail.com/features/heaviest-smokers-europe/20100530 http://tobacco.org/news/302262.html SMOKERS IN Cyprus consume more cigarettes per day than other Europeans, while almost one third of the local population smokes. The alarming statistics were published by the European Commission ahead of Monday’s World No Tobacco Day. According to the Eurobarometer, Cypriots smoke an average of 21.7 cigarettes per day, followed by Greeks with 21.4 per day. The average for the EU is 14 cigarettes per day. Stelios Sycallides of the Non-Smokers League and president of the National Coalition for the Prevention of Smoking said he was not surprised by the results although they continued to be of gave concern. Cyprus Mail Europe Cyprus Sun, 30 May 2010 04:00:00 GMT http://www.cyprus-mail.com/cyprus/over-300-flouted-smoking-ban-january/20100209 http://tobacco.org/news/296942.html ONE MONTH since its implementation and 301 people have found themselves on the wrong side of the law regarding the ban on indoor smoking in public places. So far, police have charged 197 people for smoking and 104 owners or managers of establishments for letting people smoke. According to data released by the police, officers made a total of 3,665 smoking-related inspections in January. By district, the number of inspections, fines and cases going to court are as follows: Nicosia - 444 inspections, 45 on-the-spot fines, and three cases will be brought to court; Cyprus Mail Cyprus Tue, 09 Feb 2010 05:00:00 GMT http://www.cyprus-mail.com/cyprus/spot-fines-smoking-now-force/20100120 http://tobacco.org/news/296941.html AS FROM January 15, on-the-spot fines for smoking indoors have been increased to €85 from €34, the police said yesterday. It applies to both smokers and the proprietors of the establishment. Cyprus Mail Cyprus Wed, 20 Jan 2010 05:00:00 GMT http://www.cyprus-mail.com/features/one-month-smoking-debate-smoulders/20100207 http://tobacco.org/news/296613.html Beer in hand I head for the door, but I am halted at a sign over it that decrees "Smoking Area Only. Non-Smokers Will be Asked to Leave." Around the walls of this Nicosia bar are apologetic notices reminding customers of the law, and along an empty bar miniature placards state cheerfully "Seat occupied - just gone for a smoke”. That I can even see the bar from where I’m standing tells me that the ban has made a big impact. Though I prefer the bar without the smoke, the sign over the door suggests not everyone agrees. As it happens, the owner has even started a petition against the ban. As a non-smoker I have been mostly apathetic towards the new law until now. Nonetheless, I prefer less cramped bars, cleaner air and having to do less laundry; and I have been out a lot more since. I say "until now" because on further investigation, the smoking issue is not simply about Personal Freedoms versus the Greater Good (at the best of times a tedious debate) but also matter of economics. Which side you come down depends on how you value health, wealth or the local pub. Cyprus Mail Cyprus Sun, 07 Feb 2010 05:00:00 GMT http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5iK9O9E3bsViRGWKGyqMVEHgR0QZg http://tobacco.org/news/294835.html Walk into the average Cypriot workplace, nightclub or coffeehouse and you'll come out smelling like an overflowing ashtray, in a country that has some of the highest levels of passive smoking in Europe. But officials promised Thursday that from New Year's Day, when a tougher ban on indoor smoking in public places comes into effect, nonsmokers will breathe easier. "In this new year, we're taking a big step," Health Minister Christos Patsalides said. "It is a change in the way we live, demanding a change in mindset." In theory, indoor smoking in public areas has been banned for the past seven years in the Greek-Cypriot south of this Mediterranean island, just under a third of whose 800,000 inhabitants are regular smokers. The habit kills some 600 people a year in the south, anti-smoking campaigners say. But low fines and lax enforcement allowed Cypriots to light up with impunity practically anywhere - including government offices, hospital cafeterias and stores. Canadian Press Cyprus Thu, 31 Dec 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://behavioralhealthcentral.com/index.php/20091231165280/Latest-News/cypriot-smokers-face-tough-anti-smoking-law.html http://tobacco.org/news/294834.html Smokers in Cyprus, which ranks second among the 27 countries of the European Union in smoking prevalence, will wake up on New Year's Day to some of the toughest anti-smoking regulations in Europe. As of midnight on Thursday, a strict new amendment to an existing law totally banning smoking in public places will come into force. The measure will mean that smoking will not be allowed indoors in restaurants, cafes, pubs and hotels. The previous version of the law allowed smoking in separate "moking areas" in public places. About 39 percent of Cypriots -- the second highest smoking rate in Europe after Greece's 42 per cent -- are habitual smokers. Behavioral Health Central Cyprus Thu, 31 Dec 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gMnxV--T9v8zy1TsfP7gNlykOvQQ http://tobacco.org/news/294831.html Cyprus will ring in the New Year on Thursday night with the introduction of a blanket ban on indoor smoking in pubs, clubs and cafes that is among the toughest in Europe. Cyprus has its fair share of heavy smokers but 2010 will see them having to follow in the footsteps of the French, Irish and Italians and puff outside as the authorities impose a new anti-smoking law from January 1. Agence France Presse Cyprus Thu, 31 Dec 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.cyprus-mail.com/opinions/our-view-don-t-make-assumption-smokers-will-flout-law/20100101 http://tobacco.org/news/294830.html THE BLANKET smoking ban comes into effect today, against a background of mumblings by bar and restaurant owners, complaining about the unfair law that they say will affect their businesses. The only other group to have a public moan about the new law has been the state school teachers union, because its members would be obliged to leave the school premises in order to have a cigarette. So far, the education ministry has not given in to the demand for a ‘smoking room’ for teachers in schools. Bar and restaurant owners, on the other hand, have been identifying all types of weaknesses in the law. . . . People were predicting that smoking bans in countries like Ireland and Italy, in which respect for the law was not so strong, would never work, but they were proved wrong. Smokers complied with the law and if they were desperate for a cigarette they simply walked out of the premises and lit up. Restaurant, bar and cafe owners of Cyprus should not worry because this is what will happen here as well. We wish everyone a happy new year, in a smoke-free environment. Cyprus Mail Cyprus Fri, 01 Jan 2010 05:00:00 GMT