Horeca weigert mee te werken aan rookverbod
Bar- en restauranteigenaars in Italië verzetten zich heftig tegen het aan hun opgelegde totale rookverbod in hun branche. Volgens een aan hun door de Italiaanse Minister van Volksgezondheid Sirchia opgelegde nieuwe tabakswet moeten de eigenaren er zelf op toezien dat haar clientèle zich aan de wet houdt en geen rook in de etablissementen produceert.
Ondertussen steekt Minister van Defensie Martino tijdens kabinetsvergaderingen demonstratief een sigaret op onder de ogen van ’tolerante niet-roker’ Berlusconi…..
Bar and restaurant owners have said they will refuse to police a new smoking ban in Italy, a country where breaking the rules is often considered a right.
The ban, which took effect Monday, was delayed for a few days so revelers could enjoy their last New Year celebrations in smoky bars.
It aims to end passive smoking and deter those who choose to pursue a habit which health officials say kills 90,000 people in Italy every year.
“Those who want to smoke can do it in the street or at home but not right next to people who can’t stand it and who cannot tolerate being poisoned,” said the author of the new law, Health Minister Girolamo Sirchia.
“The majority of the population is tired of being poisoned by the smoke in the air where they work or where they play … the majority, three quarters of Italians, is with us.”
Mauro, an Italian smoker, begged to differ.
“It’s a scandal because a government, which earns money on tax from cigarettes, can’t make laws against smoking. It’s like selling cars and then not allowing you to put petrol in because it pollutes — it’s the same thing,” he told Reuters Television.
Although smokers are in the minority — 18 million out of a total population of 58 million — many Italians are skeptical of a prohibition they feel smacks of American or northern European Puritanism.
