The Czech government is currently proposing a complete ban on smoking in Czech restaurants that would be adopted from the beginning of next year, according to recent articles in local media.
Among EU countries, the Czech Republic currently has one of the more lenient smoking policies. Restaurants and bars are allowed to govern themselves and only display a sign that indicates whether they allow or don’t allow smoking, or have separate smoking sections.
Smoking has been a hot button topic for years, however, with ongoing debates and proposals leading to little actual government action.
This time, however, the proposed legislation seems to have increased support; even Czech president Miloš Zeman, a notorious smoker, has stated that he would not veto the proposed ban.
Still, the president has not given his complete blessing. “I believe that a far more sensible solution – because almost every restaurant has at least two rooms – would be if smokers were in one room, non-smokers in the other, and they would not interfere with each other,” he told Czech Television.
In addition to a complete ban on smoking in restaurants and at concerts, the proposed legislation would also ban the sale of cigarettes and alcoholic drinks in vending machines and introduce further measures to reduce their consumption.