Cigar nation faces smoking curbs

Cuba, the world’s best known cigar-producing country, has announced a ban on smoking in some public places.

The government said public transport, shops and other closed spaces would become smoke-free in early February. The ban was designed to curb damage to people’s health and contribute to a change in public attitudes, it said. More than half of Cuban adults are thought to smoke, and 30% of the country’s preventable cancer deaths are said to be linked to smoking. Cuban leader Fidel Castro, once a passionate cigar puffer, gave up the habit in 1986 and has since begun campaigning against smoking. Cigars still generate $200m annually for the country’s economy. No sale to children Correspondents say this is the government’s biggest attempt so far to change Cuban smoking habits. The ban extends to theatres, buses, taxis, trains, schools, food preparation areas and sports arenas. Smoking will be restricted in restaurants, but it is not clear whether any restrictions will apply in bars. Tobacco products, the sale of which is currently unrestricted, will be banned for children under 16. Shops closer than 100m to schools will be unable to sell the products. Cigarette vending machines are also apparently set to become obsolete. Partial or total smoking bans are already in force in several European countries, in the US state of California and in New York city. Several other countries are considering bans. (Source: BBC Health, January 2005)