Subscribe to Print Edition | Thu., June 19, 2008 Sivan 16, 5768 | | Israel Time: 18:50 (EST+7) web haaretz.com   Back to Homepage Rosner's Domain Diplomacy Defense Jewish World Opinion National Print Edition Car Rental Books Peres Conference Business Real Estate Easy Start Travel Week's End Anglo File

Ease up on smokers By Haaretz Editorial Tags: Smoking, cafes, restaurants  It's absurd. A person is sitting in the garden of a big-city cafe and there is a long traffic jam on the road out in front, each car a real health hazard. Once in a while a bus passes by, leaving behind a gray cloud of soot and smoke. Across the street, on the roof, sits a cellphone antenna emitting radiation. But the person in the cafe is not allowed to light a cigarette. Israel has followed the rest of the Western world and decided to declare war on smoking in public places. This is the right step. After the storm in Ireland and now in France since the law took effect on January 1, smoking in public venues ceased in both those smoking countries and many others. In early November an amendment to the law banning smoking in public places in Israel went into effect, significantly increasing fines and expanding the ban to include bars, cafes and restaurants. It seems that no law has ever been enforced in Israel with such speed and efficiency. An army of municipal inspectors invaded cafes and bars, as did dozens of activists and volunteers acting independently, filing suits in court against smokers. Some of the suits were out of spite, others motivated by greed - as a court ruled last week - and quickly a justified concern for public health turned into a hunt for smokers. A few businesses may have to close because of the enormity of the fines against them. Advertisement It seems as if proportionality has been lost with this amendment. The owners of cafes and restaurants are reporting that the inspectors have issued tickets for smoking even when it was done in open areas such as porches and gardens. A line that sometimes appears to be imaginary has been drawn in the open areas, behind which you may not smoke. Sometimes smoking is allowed but the use of ashtrays is not. This is an exaggeration the public must neither support nor accept. There is no reason to waste words and talk about the research pointing to the dangers of smoking, both active and passive. The fight against smoking declared by much of the world is right and justified. At the basis of the legislation against smoking in public places is the assumption that smoking in closed areas is a hazard for the customers and employees who do not smoke. The law is there to protect them, and that is a good thing. But when the ban was expanded beyond the closed areas, in places where the air flows freely, one gets the impression that hunting season has been declared on smokers amid an effort to punish them - a quarter of the population. This is unacceptable. In addition to targeting the smokers, many businesses suffer economic damage. Some legislative initiatives, like that of MK Zvi Hendel, recommend the Spanish model, which calls for a quota of businesses where smoking is permitted. Such businesses will have signs declaring them places for smokers. Another option, more reasonable, is to allow smoking in open spaces. The smokers, however mistaken and damaging to themselves and others, have rights too. One of them is the right to light a cigarette in an open space without causing affront to other people. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Fragile cease-fire Olmert: Gaza cease-fire is fragile, may be short lived. Unbalanced stance Italy FM: EU stance on Israel in past swayed by intolerance.   1.   For smokers 10:36  |  Clickfool 06/01/08   2.   Move to permit smoking in certain percentage of bars, etc 10:52  |  Margie in Tel Aviv 06/01/08   3.   An affronted smoker 11:09  |  Kate 06/01/08   4.   Social engineering Gone Wild 11:24  |  FOX 06/01/08   5.   Is FARTING next? 11:30  |  FOX 06/01/08   6.   The Law should remain as is 11:35  |  avi, tel-aviv 06/01/08   7.   anglo saxon puritanism 11:39  |  roberto 06/01/08   8.   Second Hand Smoke Kills 11:45  |  Jake Gibbs 06/01/08   9.   Real Values 12:27  |  H 06/01/08   10.   Cafe gardens. 12:28  |  M. Franks-Lhermann 06/01/08   11.   john 12:32  |  no 06/01/08   12.   JAKE is a four letter word #7 12:49  |  FOX 06/01/08   13.   H, Nobless still on sale #9 13:00  |  FOX 06/01/08   14.   For Kate # 3 13:44  |  Clickfool 06/01/08   15.   Smoke in open cafes bothers non-smokers and should not be allowed 13:55  |  David 06/01/08   16.   Stop my Young Children Smoking 14:17  |  nosmokingzone 06/01/08   17.   For David, on smoke in open cafes # 15 14:46  |  Clickfool 06/01/08   18.   Fox - wrong again, as usual # 4 14:58  |  Clickfool 06/01/08   19.   The law should defend the rights of all citizens! 15:15  |  Andrei 06/01/08   20.   FOX - generally, FARTING is not acceptable public behavior 15:19  |  Boris 06/01/08   21.   Some wrong is not reason for turning all wrong 15:28  |  Adolfo Talpalar 06/01/08   22.   This, from the editors who want Israel raped, 15:52  |  David Teich 06/01/08   23.   are you nuts ? smoking is a killer and health hazard 16:04  |  victor hardman 06/01/08   24.   Come down on them like a ton of bricks 17:20  |  sh 06/01/08   25.   Who respects the law in Israel? 17:28  |  MarianoW 06/01/08   26.   Re David #22 18:28  |  Esther 06/01/08   27.   Re Victor #23 18:46  |  Esther 06/01/08   28.   A Difficult Question For Clickfool #18 18:51  |  Roy White 06/01/08   29.   Boris makes my point for me 19:26  |  FOX 06/01/08   30.   Lessons of WWII for the Smoking Debate 19:29  |  Tex 06/01/08   31.   What Does It Matter, Clickfool? 19:33  |  Tex 06/01/08   32.   Clickfool in search of death #18 19:34  |  FOX 06/01/08   33.   Question for Fox # 32 19:52  |  Clickfool 06/01/08   34.   A rare occasion I agree with Clickfool 20:00  |  Uri 06/01/08   35.   # 19, Andrei 20:10  |  Uri 06/01/08   36.   Personal Pollution 20:23  |  Yaela Katz 06/01/08   37.   Typical Chaos 20:31  |  Danite 06/01/08   38.   FOX 20:32  |  Danite 06/01/08   39.   Why yes Danite 20:55  |  FOX 06/01/08   40.   FOX Hello 21:09  |  Danite 06/01/08   41.   #17 Clickfool re smoking ban 22:24  |  Labhras 06/01/08   42.   #23 VictorPaul Harrisman 22:31  |  Labhras 06/01/08   43.   PeaceAndRelaxationWithACigaretteAndCoffee 22:50  |  Yaacob 06/01/08   44.   For Labhras # 41 23:09  |  Clickfool 06/01/08   45.   For Labhras again #42 23:13  |  Clickfool 06/01/08   46.   #36: example of fanatism 23:22  |  roberto 06/01/08   47.   Looking forward to hosting you Danite 23:31  |  FOX 06/01/08   48.   #42labarse of arabia invites us all to eire 23:32  |  victor hardman 06/01/08   49.   #445 Clickfool 23:36  |  Labhras 06/01/08   50.   #44 the clucking fool is right about tobacco 23:40  |  victor hardman 06/01/08   51.   Smokers 23:50  |  Cyasher 06/01/08   52.   #14, another fanatic 00:10  |  roberto 07/01/08   53.   FOX Farts Constantly 00:14  |  Eyal 07/01/08   54.   #8 Jake Gibbs. So true! 00:16  |  Maureen Ann 07/01/08   55.   undemocratic law 01:00  |  Robin 07/01/08   56.   Haaretz 01:26  |  Kol ha shouk 07/01/08   57.   #50 THIS IS TOO MUCH 01:57  |  nina 07/01/08   58.   Fox (39) 02:50  |  jjvanka 07/01/08   59.   #3 - From an ex smoker to a smoker 03:30  |  Giora 07/01/08   60.   The Solution : Quit Nicotine....Smoke Crack Instead 04:01  |  Klaudia 07/01/08   61.   ( part 2 )...From Tobacco Criminal to Leftist DARLING 04:31  |  Klaudia 07/01/08   62.   Clickfool 05:49  |  Ariel the Zionist 07/01/08   63.   Three Lies of Our Age 08:01  |  Chayim Phillips 07/01/08   64.   #59 Smoking kills are you next? 08:17  |  Gabriel Rose 07/01/08   65.   joysOfSmoking 08:24  |  Yaacob 07/01/08   66.   22: That`s, because, Esther, you seem a tad slow 16:18  |  David Teich 07/01/08   67.   63: Chayim forgets the main lie 16:22  |  David Teich 07/01/08   68.   Smoking around others 17:30  |  Robert Starkey 10/01/08   69.   Protecting the right to life 09:36  |  Ulysses Dorotheo 12/01/08

Read & React Israel-Hamas truce takes hold in Gaza Responses: 142 Editorial: A lengthy cease-fire is an achievement for Israel Responses: 41 ANALYSIS / For Gaza truce architect, Israel chose lesser of 2 evils Responses: 85 Jerusalem denies services to Palestinian residents over the fence Responses: 51