[Intl-tobacco] Romania: Cigarette makers ask for modifications to Law Against Smoking in enclosed public places

[Robert Weissman]

Article from "NINE O'CLOCK" newspaper No. 2824/Thursday, December 19, 2002

http://www.nineoclock.ro/index.php?show=business&issue=2824&id=20021219-111844

Cigarette makers ask for modifications to Law Against Smoking in
enclosed public places

Bucharest - “The Law relating to the prevention and combat against
the effects of tobacco products consumption,
expected to come into force on December 21, cannot be enforced, due to
unclear provisions and the absence of enforcement
measures,” officials of the Japan Tobacco International and Philip
Morris Romania tobacco companies stated on
Wednesday. “The Law Against Smoking in Enclosed Public Places
cannot be enforced as it is now. The Health Ministry
acknowledges that fact that the law is wrongly issued and is preparing
an emergency decree to modify it. The decree will
probably be passed in January,” said Gilda Lazar, Corporate
Affairs Manager of Japan Tobacco International. The main
provisions in the law that are irking the cigarette makers relate to the
ban on trade in packages smaller than 20
cigarettes, as well as the absence of a clear definition of public
places. “The text of this document is confusing
and irresponsible. A definition of!
 the public places should have been offered and the term
“pollutant” dropped out as there is no connection
between it and cigarette smoke. The ban on the trade in packages smaller
than 20 cigarettes should also have been dropped
out, as there is no such ban in the European Union,” said Lazar.
She added that the emergency decree currently worked
on will bring necessary clarifications. The Law Against Smoking in
Enclosed Public Places establishes some measures for the
prevention and combat of consumption of tobacco products by banning
smoking from enclosed public spaces, with some
exceptions, and making it mandatory for cigarette packages to carry
certain inscriptions as well as for certain public
campaigns against smoking. Under this law, smoking is only allowed in
places that are specially created to this end, which
are well aired. Bars, restaurants and disco houses are exempted from the
law. Also banned is item trade of tobacco products
and of packages of !
less than 20 cigarettes. The documents also define some terms, including
tobacco products, smoking, cigarettes, cigarillos,
nicotine, pollutant and enclosed public place. The law was published on
June 21 with Monitorul Oficial and was to come into
force six months afterwards. Philip Morris, another foreign tobacco
company operational in Romania, has also stated itself
against the current version of the law. Philip Morris agrees with the
need for smoking to be regulated, but, although the
intentions of the law are good, its provisions are unclear and make the
law unenforceable,” said Peter Imre,
corporate affairs director with the company. He also asked for the
article banning the selling of packages of less than 20
cigarettes to be repelled and the term of public places better defined.
“In our opinion, education houses, airports,
public transport means are indeed public places, but private companies
cannot be considered public places. Enforcing or not
the restric!
tion within a company should be left with the employers to
decide,” said Imre. The management of Philip Morris
Romania is also arguing that private offices used by only one employee
should not be included among the places where
smoking is forbidden.