Tobacco control

Serbia will next year enact new legislation to ban on smoking in all enclosed public places, a Belgrade-based daily is reporting.

According to Blic, this will be done through amendments to the Law on Protection of the Population from Exposure to Tobacco Smoke, and will also apply to all restaurants, bars, and cafes.

The Bulgarian government has announced it will submit to Parliament amendments to tobacco legislation that will ban the sale of tobacco products "with specific flavor and aroma qualities" that mislead consumers.

At a cabinet meeting, ministers have added the changes will include new requirements for labeling and packaging tobacco products, including health warnings on the packages.

According to a market research of the five leading tobacco companies, the consumption of illicit cigarettes in Bulgaria has registered a decrease.

This was one of the conclusions drawn from the results of the survey, which were presented at a working meeting in the building of the interior ministry on Sunday.

"Parks are among the few smoke-free places here," says Larisa Marinescu, 32, pushing a stroller with her eight-month-old girl round a park in Bucharest.

"It is very difficult to find a non-smoking place to eat with a child. This is not normal," she adds.

Marinescu is one of many Romanians who are strongly opposed to smoking.

Bulgaria's parliamentary committee on budget and finance will discuss Thursday a proposed increase in the excise duty on cigarettes.

The measure is envisaged in a set of amendments to the Excise Duties and Tax Warehouses Act, according to reports of the Bulgarian National Radio.

As of 2016, the excise duty on cigarettes will start increasing, pushing up cigarette prices.

An official from the Turkish Presidency has shared images of cigarette boxes belonging to village heads (muhtars) who have reportedly quit smoking at the request of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an, known as a fierce opponent of smokers.

Bulgaria has the second highest number of smokers in Europe and ranks sixth in the world in this respect.

According to the latest Eurobarometer, which was released on Friday, 35 % of Bulgarians smoke, being preceded only by the Greeks, where the share of the smoking population is 38 %.

A Thai campaign against smoking used a new method to convince smokers to quit.

Nine Bulgarian citizens were detained for their alleged participation in a criminal group running a massive illegal cigarette factory in Hungary.

During the operation, which took place near Budapest on February 2, authorities seized cigarette manufacturing machinery, 22 tonnes of tobacco and 2.3 million cigarettes.

The Health Ministry is planning to introduce new measures and limitations on the use of tobacco in public places in Turkey, daily newspaper Sabah reported on Jan. 30.

Smoking is already banned in enclosed areas such as restaurants, cafes, bars and shopping malls, but a number of measures are planned on tobacco use as part of the National Tobacco Control Program 2015-2018.