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Serbia records 36 percent of the adult population who smokes every day or occasionally, and it is an alarming fact that it loses 15,000 people a year as a result of smoking. Along with the corona pandemic, as the regional Movement without Tobacco warns, there is also a smoking pandemic, and, as they explain, with serious consequences.
According to “Vesti” from this movement, Serbia is rated as one of the countries in Europe with the highest rates of smoking frequency, where a third of adults consume cigarettes and other products. They are constantly appealing to citizens to contribute to raising awareness about the harmfulness and deadly consequences of tobacco use, as well as exposure to tobacco smoke. The competent institutions call for the legislation regulating tobacco control to be harmonized with the EU.
– At the time when we are fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, we must not forget the smoking pandemic that takes lives in parallel and spontaneously every day – they point out.
The organization advocates a law on a complete ban on smoking, which, according to Dr. Snezana Alcaz, neuropsychiatrist and head of the hospital treatment service of the Special Hospital for Addiction Diseases, would help prevent guests from being exposed to secondary and tertiary smoking, but also to preserve health. employees in the hospitality industry.
BiH is one step away from a new law banning smoking in closed public spaces, cafes and restaurants, while, as they say from the Balkan without Tobacco movement, Serbia has not yet harmonized its legislation with the EU and the needs of its citizens.
– The Commission for the Control of Tobacco Use in 2010, when the Law on the Protection of the Population from Exposure to Tobacco Smoke was adopted, proposed a complete ban on smoking in all public closed facilities. Unfortunately, the proposal was not adopted, but a half-solution was found for catering facilities larger than 80 square meters to designate parts for smokers and non-smokers, but there are no barriers between them, so they are all equally exposed to tobacco smoke – Dr. Snezana Alcaz points out for “Balkans without tobacco ”
According to this movement, Serbia is high on the list of countries in tobacco smoke, and according to the latest published research, it is the European leader in the average consumption of cigarettes per smoker.
On the other hand, about 35 percent of adult Montenegrins smoke and in that country about 400 people get lung cancer every year, and the treatment of one patient costs 70,000 euros. Data from the Institute of Public Health of Montenegro show that every tenth minor aged 13 to 15 consumes tobacco, so two years ago a rigorous measure was introduced in that country, a ban on smoking indoors.
In other countries in the region, the rules on smoking in public places are different. In Croatia, smoking is partially banned in cafes and pubs, and completely banned in restaurants, while in BiH there is currently no ban, and the adoption of a law on control and limited use of tobacco, tobacco and other smoking products is pending, which should be introduced complete ban. Macedonia has introduced a complete ban in cafes, pubs and restaurants, and in Slovenia smoking is allowed in special rooms in cafes and pubs, while a complete ban is in restaurants.
Regional fighters
The Balkan Without Tobacco project is supported by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, and was launched in July 2020 with the aim of reducing the prevalence of smoking through a policy of increasing excise duties on tobacco and tobacco products. The partners are Propulsion from Serbia, PROI from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Preporod from Montenegro.
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