Austria has been banning smoking for people under the age of 18 since mid-2018, following an agreement reached today between the representatives of the nine Austrian L -nder - as they have the responsibility for smoking - to adopt the relevant proposal of the Austrian Minister of Family and Youth, Sophie Karmazin, of the co-ruling, with the Social Democrats, conservative People's Party.
It is noted that Austria with Belgium and Luxembourg are the only countries in the European Union where smoking has been allowed since the age of 16, while research has repeatedly shown that the age at which young people in Austria start smoking is very young. , the youngest in Europe, only at the age of eleven and that among fifteen-year-olds the percentage of smokers is 26% for girls and 24% for boys.
In a joint press conference today with the representatives of the L ενόςnder, after the conclusion of a two-day conference in the city of Krems, the Minister of Family and Youth described as "a milestone in health and youth policy" the intention of all states to vote on the relevant law. local parliaments, while at the same time announcing the State's intention to work out effective preventive measures.
The same proposal for a ban on smoking under the age of 18, the Austrian minister had first presented two years ago, with the central government can not proceed with bans on the sale and use of tobacco products.
During the heated debates in recent months, initially only four of the nine L .nder indicated their intention to accept a unified settlement of the issue, while differences of opinion were recorded between the opposition parties.
Until recently, the neo-liberal NEOS claimed that "the moment someone goes to the polls at the age of 16, they can decide on a cigarette", while, on the contrary, the Green party welcomed from the beginning the emphasis of the Minister of Family and Youth.
At the same time, the Greens are calling for additional measures to make it difficult for young people to access smoking, noting that many have started smoking at an early age and have developed a potential addiction that they can no longer easily cope with.
A relevant law on the general ban on smoking in gastronomy, which was passed by the Austrian Parliament in May 2015 and will be implemented from May 1, 2018 - as well as the ban on smoking under 18 - gives a final end to smoking in gastronomy in Austria, after a long discussion that lasted over twelve years.
The law on "protection of non-smokers" has been in force in the country since 1 January 2009 and, after a transitional period of 18 months, has been strictly enforced in Austria since 1 July 2010. According to it, which will remain in force until April 30, 2018, all gastronomic businesses in Austria (from restaurants, cafes, the village tavern to the disco) with spaces up to 50 square meters have the free choice to operate as a shop for smokers or non-smokers.
Businesses with spaces larger than 50 square meters, which wish to have a mixed operation - for smokers and non-smokers - must have designed and have separate spaces of the same dimensions. Otherwise a smoking ban is automatically imposed and the store operates exclusively as a non-smoking area.
In theory, Austria banned smoking in public buildings in 2005, but the measure has fluctuated widely in recent years in the workplace. Where there are smoking bans, they are enforced by the majority of employees.
However, research conducted in the past, had found that in the end it is not Greece that holds the "first" in smoking, but Austria, in which the percentage of smokers is higher than any other country, and this worldwide.
According to the survey, with a percentage of smokers 36,3% of its population, Austria is in first place, followed by Greece with 35% and third Hungary with 23,8%.
Source RES-EIA