Govt Moves Towards Baning Smoking in Public Places
The government adopted on Thursday amendments to the anti-smoking act, which introduce bans on smoking in all indoor public and work places. Also being sent to parliament are amendments to the health insurance act and the bill on quality and safety of human tissues and cells for the purposes of medical treatment.
Under the proposed changes to the tobacco act, smoking would be allowed only in areas where employees cannot be exposed to second-hand smoke.
Exceptions to the general smoking ban would include open public areas, special smoking hotel rooms, special smoking areas in elderly care centres and jails and special smoking rooms in bars and other work places.
The bill defines a smoking room as a room that an owner or manager of a public or work place would furnish solely for smoking purposes.
Meanwhile, a complete ban is imposed on smoking in education and health institutions as well as cake and ice cream shops.
The motion also envisages the raising of the age limit for persons buying cigarettes from the current 15 to 18 years of age. Retailers would have to check the age of buyers, as is the case with alcohol.
Meanwhile, the amendments to the health insurance act, ready to go through parliament in shortened procedure, define the data necessary for loss event claims processing in supplementary health insurance and thereby clarify the functioning of equalisation schemes.
Finally, also ready for debate in the National Assembly is the bill on quality and safety of human tissues and cells for the purposes of medical treatment. Health Minister Andrej Brucan explained to the press that the bill increased standards and improved the conditions for exchange in donated tissues and cells.
The bill further stipulates that the obtaining of tissues and cells is only possible when the donor gives his or her organs away voluntarily and for free, which is seen as a way of preventing trade in body parts.
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