Tobacco control

From June 8, smoking will be banned in 52 Paris parks, squares and city gardens. The decision comes a year after the same ban was imposed in several central and suburban districts of the French capital.

A ban on smoking in 52 public parks and gardens, which is about 10% of green areas in the French capital, has been enforced in Paris, BTA reported. The mayoralty said that this decision would make Paris "an even more hospitable and breathtaking capital".

Bulgaria is lagging behind the rest of the EU in terms of restrictions that limit  smoking outside.

From today - 20 May, a European Union regulation which establishes a traceability system for each box of cigarettes enters into force.

Each box of cigarettes manufactured or imported in Bulgaria must have a unique code which will allow its tracing to follow from the production to the customer.

More people in Turkey are smoking despite recent government-initiated regulations and campaigns discouraging the unhealthy habit.

Thessaloniki Mayor Yiannis Boutaris said on Friday that municipal officers will begin enforcing Greece's largely flouted smoking ban in all enclosed public spaces after the Easter holidays.
Speaking to journalists, Boutaris said smoking has continued in enclosed public spaces despite the ban.
"We are the only country where laws are not enforced," he said at a press briefing.

A ruling by the Council of State, calling for an end to the exemption of nightclubs and casinos from a ban on smoking in public places, has prompted the state to issue a new decision with a new exemption for such businesses.

The makers of products that constitute alternatives to cigarettes have blasted the government for putting heated tobacco products, such as Glo and IQOS, and electronic cigarettes in the same category as conventional cigarettes in an urgent bill debated on Wednesday in Parliament.

Seven citizens' groups have sent a letter to the Labor Inspection Corps demanding to know whether the agency is carrying out regular checks on businesses and offices in order to impose a much-flouted smoking ban that was introduced in 2010.

A traditional study is carried out by collecting and analyzing empty cigarette packs in major cities in the country.

Data for the third quarter of last year show that the share of illegal cigarette consumption is just over 5%, reported the Bulgarian National Television. 

Then most cigarettes without banderol were found in Pernik, Vidin and Haskovo.