They’re looking for the light at the end of the smoke tunnel

The leadership of the ministry of Health seems entrapped in the fumes of the smoke cloud, which stretches across the country penetrating the suffocating anti-smoking law, and is urgently seeking an escape route.

After the complete failure of the first three months, alternative ways of implementation are being sought, more flexible and efficient ones in terms of the power of the anti-smoking law in cooperation with other ministries.
 
The Spanish model

And while public health protection has become a major issue in Spain and an even harsher anti-smoking law for public spaces is being implemented, in Greece of the (supposedly) total ban from October 1 2010, smokers keep at it in all the restricted «zones».

The festive season has only confirmed in the most provocative way that this law remains strong and tight only on paper. Smoking was almost imperative and smokers considered it as their non-negotiable right, refusing to cooperate with the few brave owners who kept reminding them that smoking is prohibited in enclosed public places, and the notorious control mechanism simply did not exist.
 

The provisions under the microscope once again

After these dismal findings associated with both a major public health issue in the country and the issue of the implementation of the law itself, the review of the anti-smoking law is a one-way street for the leadership of the ministry of Health.

According to protothema.gr information, in the following days a working group involving staff from the ministries of Economy, Development and Interior, which will focus on issues of genuine and effective implementation of the anti-smoking law. The team will be coordinated by the respective secretaries, with the general secretary of Public Health, Antonis Dimopoulos, having the last word.

However, the ministry of Health is defending its actions. For example, they are citing a regulation that will enable Public Health Auditors to conduct inspections themselves. Until now they could do second-degree inspections, only in cases of an owner or store that repeated the offense, and were not authorised to impose fines. It should be noted, though, that although this regulation has been announced many times, it has never been voted on.
 
Responsibilities for municipal leaders, too

Meanwhile, in an attempt to explain the unexplainable, staff from the ministry of Health are blaming it on the recent elections. «It was unfortunate that the first three months coincided with the municipal elections. No mayor wanted to dissatisfy his voters by giving orders for audits and fines» says an official from the ministry. This strategy was tacitly applied until December 31 by many departing mayors. It’s characteristic that in December in Thessaloniki only 139 audits were conducted and 38 fines implemented.
 
The audit status is foggy

The mild, if not careless way by which the municipal services adhere to the anti-smoking law is indicated by the fact that only a few of them supply the ministry with the outcome of their audits, without really involving ministry employees.

It’s indicative that the ministry of Health has a record of the audits until November for 4 large municipalities. According to it, since October 1 2010, 6.346 audits have been conducted mainly in spaces concerning public hygiene, 3.235 of those in Athens, followed by Thessaloniki, Piraeus and Iraklio. The majority is for coffee-bars (66%), restaurants (15%), public services (4%), hospitals (1%), refectories (13%) and schools (1%). In total, fines of 160.400 euros have been imposed. First is Thessaloniki (57.650), then Athens (52.550), Piraeus (42.400) and Iraklio (7.800). The highest fine is 1.200 euros and concerns managers of hygiene-related businesses in Thessaloniki, Athens and Piraeus.