Legislation on the tobacco

The Tabac seems more and more to be essential like a harmful product for health. As such, it is thus framed by many legislations.

In North America

In Canada

The Canada does not have a federal law to restrict the nicotinism. It belongs rather to the ten province S and the three territory S to legislate on the question. Several municipalities preceded the provincial laws and restricts the use of the cigarette on their territory:

the New Brunswick, the Manitoba, the Nunavut, the Saskatchewan, Newfoundland and Labrador, the Quebec and the Territoires of the North-West prohibit all the use of the tobacco in the restaurants and the bars;
the Ontario imposed a provincial law at the end of May 2006. However, several municipalities prohibited already the nicotinism in the public places. It is the case of the town of Toronto, which gradually prohibited cigarette smoking in the bars and restaurants, of 1999 to 2004;
recognized A long time like a “paradise for smokers”, the Quebec has just obtained very wide laws anti-tobacco. The use of the tobacco is interdict in the majority of the since January 1999 public places. All the bars, the restaurants to a radius of nine meters of the doors, the vehicles of work transporting two people or more, the common surfaces of the buildings of 6 residences or more became nonsmokers the May 31st 2006. The recent law envisages the abolition of any smoking-room for 2008.

Law on the tobacco - 1998
Steps of revision of the Law on the tobacco at the winter 2005
New Law on the tobacco - adopted unanimously in June 2005

Since October 1st, 2004, it is interdict to smoke in the public places and the work places of New Brunswick and in particular on the grounds of schools, in the retail stores, the church halls, the centers of congress, the entertaining installations, the educational establishments, the rooms of Bingo, the establishments having alcohol a license, the restaurants.

Press release
Law on the places without smoke

the Colombia-British, the Island-of-Prince-Edouard and the Nova Scotia allow the cigarette in certain indicated surfaces.
the Alberta prohibits the nicotinism on the work places, but not in the bars, casino S and rooms of bingo. The exception is the town of Edmonton, which issued a total ban. Calgary envisages to encase the step in 2008.
the Yukon is the only Canadian area without legislation anti-tobacco. The town of Whitehorse however prohibits the use of the tobacco in all the public places, including bars and restaurants, since 2005.

In the United States

Following the example Canada, the the United States do not impose federal regulation, leaving the care to the States to legislate. Those have all prohibits the nicotinism in public, with more or less of severity according to the areas. The cities and municipalities can also adopt their own payments to limit or banish the use of the tobacco as a public. The town of New York, for example, applies a policy of prohibition of the nicotinism, which is not tolerated in the bars, discotheques and restaurants.

In Europe

In Germany

In Belgium

the royal Arrêté of September 15th, 1976 prohibits cigarette smoking in public transport. Cigarette smoking can be authorized only in the compartments envisaged for this purpose.
By the Royal Decrees of May 15th, 1990 and of January 2nd, 1991, it is interdict to smoke in the places accessible to the public, excluded in the sector horeca (hotels, restaurants and coffees).
on January 1st, 2004, the compartments smokers disappear from the trains of SNCB and the sale of tobacco becomes prohibited with the minors of less than 16 years, under penalty of heavy fines.
the 1^er January 2006, it is interdict to smoke on its work place, except if a place is envisaged for this purpose.
Since the 1^er January 2007, it is interdict to smoke in the restaurants.

In France

The tobacco is regarded in France as a drug '' sells by auction ''. Its production and its sale are covered by a regulation, but are not any more since 1995 a state monopoly. The distribution, ensured by tobacco dealer, remains the monopoly of the concession granted to the the Seita amalgamated with the Spanish national manufacturer in the company Altadis. It is the subject of a particular taxation.

The law envisages:

the fixing of the maximum contents of Tar of the cigarettes by decree of the Minister for Health
obligation to make be reproduced on the cigarette packs the content of Nicotine, Tar S, and more recently of Carbon monoxide
of the medical warnings, within a black and white framework of a minimal surface of 30% from the recto and 40% of the back of the packages and any other packing
the possibility of distinct buildings ventilated and isolated for the public, with the whole discretion of the owners. The nicotinism is completely proscribed, including with the free air in the educational establishments (school, college, college). In higher education, the chief of establishment can authorize to smoke outside the buildings.

Following the law Veil (1976), the law Evin (1991), codified in the public health code and the labor regulation, prohibited in particular:

to smoke in the places assigned to a collective use (including the buildings of the stations and means of transport), except in the sites expressly reserved to the smokers; these places are defined by decree.
any propaganda or publicity, direct or indirect, in favor of the tobacco and the derivative products (including for all the sports events in France, and it applies to the televised retransmissions of events abroad, by obliging the chains to take all measurements making it possible to hide these publicities).
any free distribution.
any operation of sponsorship related to the tobacco.
the sale of tobacco to the minors of less than 16 years.

Certain French sporting federations knew at the beginning of the problems with their international federations (in particular of motorized sports), under the pressure of the advertisers cigarettiers, and wanted to boycott the sports events in France. This attempt at boycott failed, France having been constant in its intention to make apply the Law by the European authorities, the media, and other countries wanting to apply similar laws.

That caused to practically stop the promotional sporting raids in particular in Africa (Gauloises raids for example), deprived of cover by the French media as long as they remained also directly associated with the marks with cigarettiers. In the same way, the concerts and spectacles cannot receive subsidy of cigarettiers any more and cannot mention their marks any more, nor to authorize the free distribution of tobacco on their occasion.

The stores " duty free" - which resold taken the tax off cigarettes - in the intracommunity zones of the airports were removed.

Since the end of 2005, prohibition extends to all the planes (for safety reasons) and all the trains (This prohibition is not legal origin, but a business practice of the SNCF). Moreover the quota of transport of cigarettes from now on is limited (only one cartridge of 200 cigarettes authorized by anybody), in order to fight against the importation (legal) because of the travellers (less taxed foreign countries, for example Andorre, Luxembourg, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Germany,…) and the Smuggling of tobacco (traffic of importation from North Africa, sub-Saharan Africa, Eastern Europe,… and through traffic towards the the United Kingdom, coming from Montenegro, of the North Korea, of the remainder of Asia,…) and postal routing not declared tobacco, which is prohibited (liable to immediate seizure and amends tax against the recipient).

Of November 15th, 2006 fixes the conditions for application of prohibition to smoke in the places assigned to a collective use. It redefines the standards applying to the places which can be expressly held to the smokers. It came into effect the 1^er February 2007, except in the permanent drink flows being consumed on the spot, casinos, circles of play, tobacco shops, discotheques, hotels and restaurants, where it will be the case starting from the 1^er January 2008. These places, usually called smoking-rooms, will have to be closed and ventilated specifically, without possibility of delivering services there (see lower precise details).

Of what the companies do have they need to be in conformity?

In the places assigned to a collective use, an apparent indication must point out the principle of prohibition to smoke. A model of indication accompanied by a medical message of prevention, in conformity with standards AFNOR, is determined by decree of the minister in charge for health.
If the company decides to create closed reserved sites, assigned to cigarette smoking, the following rules apply:

no performance of service can be delivered;
no task of maintenance and maintenance can be there carried out without the air being renewed, in the absence of any occupant, during at least an hour;
the access to the minors of less than 16 years is strictly prohibited.

Moreover, these rooms smokers must meet very strict standards:

to be equipped with a device of extraction of air by mechanical ventilation allowing a renewal of minimal air of ten times the volume of the site per hour. This device is entirely independent of the ventilation system or air-conditioning of air of the building. The room is maintained in continuous depression from at least five Pascals compared to the communicating parts.
to be equipped with automatic closings without possibility of nonintentional opening
of not constituting a crossing point
to have a surface to most equal to 20% of the total surface area of the establishment in which the sites are arranged without the surface of a site being able to exceed 35 square meters

What risks the contraveners in the event of non-observance of the decree?

an infringment of 5th class for the employer: up to 750 euros of fine per infringement if it does not respect the standards of smoking-rooms or if it does not set up indication. The basic contractual fine is of 135 euros
an infringment of 3rd class for the smoker: up to 450 euros of fine per infringement if he smokes in one of the places mentioned with the R3511-1 article, i.e. apart from a site placed at the disposal of the smokers. The first contractual fine is of 68 euros.

In Ireland

Since March 2004, it is interdict to smoke in Ireland in all the closed places which constitute work places. Prohibition to smoke is in particular applicable to the restaurants, the coffees ( pubs ) and discotheques, and the creation of rooms reserved to the smokers (" fumoirs") is not envisaged there. It is, in fact, the first country to have taken such measurements (even if certain American states preceded it on certain points). Contrary to the alarmist predictions of the tenants of pubs, the installation of this measurement was carried out without real difficulty and negative impact on the walk of the businesses of the public corporations did not have. One year after its coming into effect, it profited from a very broad support of the population, since 93% of the Irishmen were declared satisfied, including 80% among smokers.

In Italy

the law of 1975 interdict to smoke in the taxis, bus, subway and hospital.
Another more restrictive, adopted in December 2002 and entered law in application the January 10th 2005, prohibited to smoke in all the public places (even tobacconist's shops), except in rooms arranged for the smokers. These rooms, whose creation is optional, must represent less than 50% of the surface of the establishment, to be closed and equipped with strict devices of ventilation. They must be closed by doors closing itself automatically and cannot constitute points of required passage for the nonsmokers. ()

In Norway

Since June 1st, 2004, it is interdict to smoke in all the places where one serves of the food products or drinks. In a concern of protecting the personnel against the risks from passive smoking, the possibility of creating rooms reserved to the smokers was excluded. ()

In the United Kingdom

The House of Commons voted in the night of the 14 with the February 15th a 2006 law prohibiting cigarette smoking in the pub S, clubs and work places of the country. It will come into in July 2007 force. It will be always possible to smoke in private spaces, the prisons and the hotels. The fines will go from 50 books for the consumer to 1000 pounds for the owners of pubs. It is also question of changing the minimum age to buy tobacco, which would be high from 16 to 18 years Source.

In Sweden

In Sweden, starting from June 1st 2005, it is completely interdict to smoke in the restaurants and the coffees, unless the establishments do not have closed rooms reserved with the smokers and equipped with a regulatory device of ventilation. The parts reserved to the smokers should not constitute places of required passage for the other customers, they must use less than half of the surface availability of the public, and the employees of the establishments are held to remain only in way “ there; temporaire ”, no line of business not being able to be held while somebody smokes. ()

In Switzerland

A federal parliamentary initiative was launched by the national adviser Felix Gutzwiller. She proposes to amend the law on work by establishing the principle which the workers must be able to carry on their activity without being exposed with passive smoke. Smoking-rooms can be considered in so far as no service is carried out there. This initiative was accepted by the National council on October 4th, 2007. However, of the exceptions will be planned for the public corporations (coffees, restaurants, nightclubs, etc) which could require exemptions and be recognized like " fumeurs" establishments;. Knowing that they are precisely generally the most smoked out places, one can affirm that the bill was emptied of most of its substance. In addition, as in fact the cantons will grant or not the exemptions, one can also wonder the practice up to what point will be uniform in all the country, while at the same time it was there one of the objectives of initiating. In fact the right parties wanted to defend the " right to fumer" and the freedom of the tradesmen to decide if their establishment would be smoker or not, with the name in particular of the attraction of the Swiss tourist place, whereas the left parties defended a more general prohibition. These positions go thus contrary to what one notes in the case of the cannabis, since in the case of this illegal drug, it is generally the left which defends the de-penalization of consumption whereas the line is more restrictive. At all events, the question is not definitively solved, since the second room of the Swiss Parliament, the Council of the States (the " Room of the cantons, is a kind of equivalent of the American Senate) will have to decide in December 2007. Source: radio, television and written press of October 5th, 07.

In Switzerland, each canton can legislate in the cantonal fields of competence (e.g., health and hygiene). The actual position of the cantons is:

Tessin : Smoke is banished of all the public corporations. However the possibility is reserved of arranging rooms for smokers, according to the Italian model. This law was the subject of a referendum deposited by the party of Lega dei Ticinesi, which estimated it liberticide. March 12th 2005, the people tessinois decided to 79,1% in favor of prohibition.
Soleure : Smoke is from now on prohibited in all the establishments and public buildings soleurois. Smoking-rooms with a separate ventilation could however be arranged in the buildings. The transitory time of adaptation is two years.
Geneva, Freiburg, Vaud and Neuchâtel: a cantonal popular initiative, entitled “ Passive smoke and santé ”, is currently in hand in each one of these four cantons. This initiative asks for prohibition of smoke in the public corporations without possibility of establishing a smoking-room (according to the Irish model). The Genevese initiative “ Passive smoke and santé ”, supported by CIPRET-Geneva and OxyRomandie association, was the subject of a recourse to the Federal court, deposited by the law firm which defends Japan Tobacco International (JTI). The Federal court having rejected the recourse on March 29th, 2007, the Genevese initiative will pass in front of the people of the canton in spring 2008. The initiatives in the other cantons were launched with the support of the French Coalition against smoke passivates , which constituted in December 2005 to this end, and of the OxyRomandie association, whose objective is to fight against passive smoking in the French-speaking Switzerland.
Bern: The establishments of more than 30 places must have a corner clearly separated nonsmoker.

In Turkey

November 7th, 1996, Turkey prohibits the nicotinism in the public places with a fine of 700 YTL since 2006 (legislation 4207 with the name “Tütün the ve Tütün Mamullerinin Onlenmesine Dair Kanun” ‹the Act for the prevention of dangers of products of tobacco and tobacco›).

Sources

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