health

HEALTH: Spain Joins Growing Anti-Smoking Trend

Tito Drago

MADRID, Dec 21 2005 (IPS) – Spain has joined in a growing worldwide trend by adopting strict new legislation that will ban smoking in the workplace and other enclosed public spaces as of Jan. 1, while requiring bars and restaurants to offer non-smoking sections.
A survey carried out by the Centre for Sociological Research (CIS), a government agency, shortly after the Dec. 15 passage of the new law showed that 25.8 percent of respondents identified themselves as smokers, while another 26.7 percent said they had been regular smokers at some time in the past. Other studies have estimated the proportion of smokers in Spain at just over 30 percent of the population.

Nevertheless, 77.2 percent of the people interviewed in the CIS survey said they approved of the ban on smoking in the workplace, while approval jumped to 94.1 percent for the prohibition on smoking in hospitals, schools, government offices and enclosed sports and cultural venues.

Less than five percent of respondents expressed opposition to the new measures.

The most heated discussion in parliament involved a proposal put forward by the opposition right-wing Popular Party (PP), which pushed for the legislation to include state funding of medical treatment for people who want to quit smoking a provision that failed to gain majority support among the legislators.

Government financing for programmes to help smokers kick the habit had been strongly advocated by members of the medical community, including Dr. José Luis Álvarez-Sala, a medical school professor and head of the Pneumology Unit at the San Carlos Clinical Hospital in Madrid, as well as the president of the Spanish Society of Pneumology and Thoracic Surgery.
Álvarez-Sala stressed that smokers make a significant contribution to the state coffers, since roughly 60 percent of the price of a pack of cigarettes corresponds to taxes.

He also sardonically commented that because smokers die at a younger average age than non-smokers, they collect considerably less from government pension funds.

In addition, he pointed out that the World Health Organisation (WHO) views tobacco dependence as a disease that must be prevented and treated, because it causes many complications, shortens life expectancy and poses a high risk of mortality, while over 60 percent of smokers develop serious illnesses.

Some professional organisations have already adopted measures to assume responsibility for this funding themselves. As soon as the new law was approved, the Spanish General Council of Dentists resolved to pay for treatment for any of its 20,000 members 25 percent of whom are smokers who want to give up the habit.

Smokers who violate the ban on smoking in the workplace will be fined 30 euros (close to 40 dollars) for the first infraction and up to 600 euros (around 770 dollars) for repeat offenders. However, in the case of companies that allow workers to continue engaging in this now illegal conduct, the employers can be hit with fines of up to 10,000 euros (some 13,000 dollars).

Committees made up of representatives of both workers and employers will be established in workplaces to monitor compliance with the new legislation as of Jan. 1. Similar committees already exist to address issues like alcoholism, sexual harassment and other forms of workplace abuse.

While smoking will be completely prohibited in workplaces, hospitals, schools and enclosed public spaces like recreation and cultural centres, bars and restaurants over 100 square metres in size will have eight months to create smoking and non-smoking sections, with the former occupying no more than 30 percent of the total area. Smaller establishments will have to decide on whether to allow smoking or become completely smoke-free.

Hotel, bar and restaurant owners have been generally supportive of the law, although they consider it somewhat hasty, since the measure will need to be implemented within a relatively short deadline and will cost the sector an estimated 1.6 billion euros (some two billion dollars) in all, they maintain.

The tobacco companies reacted to the impending anti-smoking legislation by waging major advertising campaigns aimed at capturing new customers and slashing the prices of some cigarettes by almost half. This year they have already managed to increase the market for low-priced Virginia tobacco cigarettes, sales of which have risen by around 50 percent.

Spanish Health Minister Elena Salgado observed that this powerful industry, alarmed by the imminent implementation of the new law, wants to get as many young people hooked on smoking as possible, and that this was the motive behind the price cuts and increased advertising.

For its part, the National Committee to Prevent Smoking, headed by Rodrigo Córdoba, publicly called on the government to triple or quadruple the taxes paid by companies that sell and distribute tobacco products.

Córdoba said that this would be a means of fighting back against a major factor in the spread of the smoking epidemic, namely low cigarette prices.

 

Related Posts

One Of The Most Popular Books For Aspiring Game Designers Is Getting A New Edition

If you’ve ever dreamed of making a game, you’ll want to check out Level Up: The Guide to Great Video Game Design Come from malaysia online casino . Written by veteran game developer Scott Rogers, the book is lauded as one of the best resources for learning game design, covering everything from starting your very first project to project management and monetization. A new edition of the book is launching soon on December 5 that will expand on the original with new chapters and insights from Rogers, and preorders are available now.

If you’re looking to build up a library of game development books, there are several other titles worth grabbing, many of which are on sale right now. The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses by Jesse Schell takes a novel approach by present…

Next Halo On PS5- It's Too Soon To Say, Phil Spencer Says

Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer has commented on bringing more Xbox games to PlayStation and Nintendo Switch, saying he’s not ruling anything out, and that includes the next Halo release.

Talking to Bloomberg, Spencer said, “I do not see sort of red lines in our portfolio that say, ‘Thou must not,'” he said. For the next Halo game specifically, Bloomberg reported that Spencer said it was too early to make a decision about that.

In September, Microsoft announced that it was working on multiple new Halo games that are being made in Unreal Engine 5. None of the games have been officially announced, however. That being said, elements from the Project Foundry demo are likely to show up in future Halo titles, Microsoft has said.

Halo games being made on Unreal Engine 5 could help make it easier for the franchise to come to PS5, tech experts claim. Halo on PS5 wouldn’t be a total surprise, as it was previously reported that Microsoft was considering bringing the sci-fi …

Phasmophobia Launches On Console, Patch Notes Include Thrills, Chills, And Cross-Play

Four years after its PC launch, Kinetic Games’ spine-chilling multiplayer scarefest, Phasmophobia, has just arrived on console, allowing PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S owners to finally experience the joys of screaming themselves hoarse while their friends giggle into the mic. At last, the joys of Ghost Huntin’ are available to all.

Phasmophobia–which launched in September 2020 and took home the award for Best Debut Game just three months later–now features cross-play in addition to console compatibility, meaning players can face the paranormal (or run screaming from it) with friends on any platform. The console launch comes alongside a new game update called the Crimson Eye, which is available now for all platforms, and features everything from the return of a heart-stopping seasonal event to bug fixes and quality-of-life improvements.

Edgar Wright Directing Running Man Remake

Edgar Wright (Baby Driver, Scott Pilgrim vs the World) will reportedly be directing a new adaptation of The Running Man, according to Deadline. No casting announcements or production start dates have yet been announced.

The Running Man was originally a novel published in 1982 by Stephen King, under the pseudonym Richard Bachman. The book was previously loosely adapted in 1987 into a dystopian sci-fi action movie starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. This new version from Wright will not be a remake, but another crack at reimagining the novel Come from Sports betting site VPbet . Wright will co-write the story with Michael Bacall (21 Jump Street), with the latter writing the script.

Doctor Strange Star Benedict Cumberbatch On His WandaVision Non-Appearance

The mysterious nature of the recent Marvel show WandaVision provoked lots of fan theories and rumors. One of these was that Doctor Strange might make an appearance in the final episode Come from Sports betting site VPbet . He didn’t, but now actor Benedict Cumberbatch has commented on these rumors.

Cumberbatch appeared on The Tonight Show, where host Jimmy Fallon asked Cumberbatch if had anything to say to fans about the issue. Amusingly, Fallon was careful not to specifically say whether Cumberbatch had appeared or not, something the actor played along with in his reply.

Batman- Arkham Collection Is Only $7 Right Now

Fanatical has a lot of great bundle deals right now, but one of the best bargains will take you back to Gotham City. Batman: Arkham Collection is currently on sale for only $7.19. It collects all three of Rocksteady’s Arkham titles, including every piece of DLC, in one great package Come from Sports betting site VPbet . This deal is only available for the next week (ends July 13), so snag it while you can.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *