Czech President Miloš Zeman cuts back to two packs of cigarettes a day at doctors' recommendation

Prague, Oct 23 (CTK) – Central Military Hospital (UVN) director Miroslav Zavoral will release the complete health file of President Miloš Zeman on Thursday, Zeman told media today, reiterating that he suffers from no other health problem than hurting legs and will not step down over his health condition.

Zeman, 75, spent four days in the UVN as a regeneration stay last week.

On his departure on Sunday, the UVN said Zeman was in a good condition and had undergone no surgery in the hospital.

Explaining Zeman’s stay in hospital, his spokesman Jiří Ovčáček said Zeman wants to be “absolutely fit” on the October 28 national holiday, on which he is supposed to attend several official ceremonies.

Zeman’s first public appearance since his hospitalisation was his speech in the Chamber of Deputies earlier this morning, in which he supported the government’s draft 2020 budget bill.

“On Thursday, doctor Zavoral will release my complete health file which shows that my only trouble are my hurting feet,” Zeman said.

On arrival in the lower house, Zeman told journalists that people around him told him that he looks good.

Like last year, he used a lift to reach the parliament conference room on the first floor. In the previous years, he usually ascended the staircase.

While waiting for his lower house appearance, he used an armchair to avoid standing.

Zeman has been suffering from neuropathy in his feet as a result of diabetes.

Talking to his suite today, he cited former British PM Winston Churchill who said he never stood when he could sit.

Before visiting Chamber of Deputies chairman Radek Vondracek (ANO) in his office, Zeman told him “you will be smoked again,” in an allusion to Vondracek’s complaint on a previous occasion that when meeting Zeman, a strong smoker, he feels like a smoked meat.

Acting on doctors’ recommendation, Zeman recently restricted his smoking from 60 to 40 cigarettes a day.