Just having an ashtray on a table will land a Ukrainian restaurant or cafe owner with a $1,250 fine under an anti-smoking law adopted yesterday by Ukraine’s parliament, just two weeks before the start of the Euro 2012 soccer championship.
The law, which will bring the former Soviet republic into line with European standards ahead of the month-long tournament, will ban smoking in all sports buildings, cafes and restaurants, at bus, tram or train stops, in official buildings and on public transport. It widened previous 2010 legislation, which prohibits smoking in lifts, hospitals, schools and street underpasses.
Until Thursday’s law, restaurant and cafes had been able to allocate certain areas to smokers, but this will now be banned. The new law says special smoking areas can be set up in business enterprises, airports and train stations providing equipment for smoke removal is installed – (Reuters)