Smoking Permitted Once Again in Specified Areas

By on September 30, 2011 in News

Smoking will be once again permitted in Greece given the country’s poor financial situation. The new measure will allow smokers to smoke inside casinos and big nightclubs exceeding 300m2.

According to the decision of Finance and Health Ministers, Mr. Venizelos and Mr. Loverdos, casino and big nightclub owners will be authorized to set up a smoking area, which could cover 50% of the total acreage of their business.

In order to set up a special area for smokers, the owner will have to pay annually 200 euros per square meter. The tax must be paid before the 30th of November 2011 in Public Revenue Offices.

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  • http://www.Antibrains.com Michael J. McFadden

    So let me see if I understand this correctly.  If one of the smallest nightclubs (300m^2) wanted to set aside its allowed 150m^2 for smoking in the year 2012, it would have to pay a protection racket fee to the government of 30,000 Euros by Nov. of 2011 or face raids by the gesta.. er… police?  And it has to do this simply to partially allow something that it was FULLY allowed to do for absolutely ZERO euros just a couple of years ago?

    I hadn’t realized that the economy in Greece was doing so well that the government could get away with hitting its citizens with fees like that out of nowhere.  Does the government have some pretense at all for justifying this or is it just a wild whim of the moment?

    What plans are in place if the owners of all the small Greek nightclubs, bars, and restaurants simply decide to hang “Smoking Allowed Here!” signs in their windows?  Does Greece have adequate camps to house all the arrestees and adequate personnel in its military to take over the jobs of bartenders, cooks, and waitresses?  Or will it simply close all such places down and invite its citizens to riot… er… party in the streets?

    Socrates was wrong when he chose to drink hemlock.  If he’d insisted on execution by secondhand smoke maybe he’d still be alive today and the Greek government would have a bit more common sense.

    Your ban law, like all such ban laws, is based on lies and should be fought.  I will add a link in a follow up posting, but in case links are not acceptable here I provide an alternative.  Simply Google “V.Gen5H” and click on the “Health Arguments” link at the top.  You’ll find a very educational booklet there, free for the reading, printing, and sharing, titled “The Lies Behind The Smoking Bans.”  Print out a copy and bring it to your favorite small bar/restaurant/club owner.  They’ll appreciate it!

    Michael J. McFadden
    Author of “Dissecting Antismokers’ Brains”

  • http://www.Antibrains.com Michael J. McFadden

    Here is the promised link to save you from the Googling:

    http://kuneman.smokersclub.com/PASAN/Genv5h.pdf

    Best of luck in your battle!

    - MJM

  • http://www.Antibrains.com Michael J. McFadden

    Many apologies:  Corrected link:  

    http://kuneman.smokersclub.com/PASAN/StilettoGenv5h.pdf

  • Levendis Ph

     The measures as a thought are towards the right direction .Such meassures could be extended to all places that belong in this huge industry such as restaurants , bars  etcIN ALL COUNTRIES .But the amount that is being charged ,  200 euro per  square metre is   out of any sence and it only shows that the goverment is actually playing the role of A BIG THIEF

  • Joop

    Anyway, this new law indicates that smoking bans harm the economy. Actually, this should be printed on all tobacco products!

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_BYBORQLHOERMN23Z35UCGMJMXQ brenda

    Surely it would benefit the economy more if ALL hospitality venues had the right to state whether or not they want smoking allowed in their own businesses.

  • Anonymous

    Correct me if i’m wrong but all the reports I have had indicate very strongly that the Greeks are ignoring the smoke ban laws anyway – Why would they fall for this attempt to rob decent people. The Greek people have my full respect – they are kicking the arses of these gullible anti-smoker fanatics and long may it continue. Greece is the birthplace of democracy, now they are showing the world how to defend freedom. Why are we not following their example?

  • Mr A

    “Smoking will be once again permitted in Greece given the country’s poor financial situation. ”  So here we have a tacit admission that smoking bans are bad for the economy (as if we didn’t know!).  In that case, why not remove the ban from everywhere, then businesses can decide if they are smoking or non-smoking?  Then smoking bars would be full of happy smokers and and non-smokers who don’t care about smoking and non-smoking bars would be full of happy non-smokers – everyone catered for, everyone out and spending money.  It’s not rocket science, but it seems far too complicated for many anti-smokers to comprehend…..

  • prog

    Ah, the cracks are now too wide to be plastered over. 

    I’ve always believed that smoking bans were a ‘luxury’ of a decadent society. Now times are harder, it seems that money takes precedent over principle. This initiative is clearly recognition that blanket smoking bans don’t work. And, as Michael suggests, a very convenient means to introduce yet another tax. Ironically, if this had been suggested in the first place it might have held more credence. Let’s just hope that the Greeks continue to ignore the current arrangement. 

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Otis-Motis/100001046386546 Otis Motis

    Grab an electronic cigarette perhaps the Safe Cig Micro and laugh it off