- Title: ITALY: ITALIAN SMOKING BAN IN PUBLIC PLACES COMES INTO EFFECT
- Date: 10th January 2005
- Summary: (U3) ROME, ITALY (JANUARY 10, 2005) (REUTERS) 1. PAN ROMAN SQUARE 0.07 2. SLV/SV SMOKING OUTSIDE BAR EARLY IN THE MORNING (2 SHOTS) 0.17 3. PAN OF PEOPLE DRINKING COFFEE INSIDE BAR 0.23 4. CU NO SMOKING SIGN 0.28 5. MCU (Italian) BARMAN, MARIO GIACOMELLI, SAYING: (IF PEOPLE SMOKED IN THE BAR) "I would tell them not smoke, I would not report them to the police but I would call my supervisor." 0.39 6. PAN PEOPLE IN BAR/CU EMPTY ASHTRAY (2 SHOTS) 0.52 7. MCU (Italian) WOMAN, ANNALISA PROIETTI, SAYING: "The decision has been made and we will have to comply, we are all going to smoke outside. It will probably mean that we won't go to restaurants so often any more." 1.00 8. CU OF PACKETS OF CIGARETTES AND LIGHTERS IN SHOP (2 SHOTS) 1.08 9. SV (English) IRISH TOURISTS, SAYING: "Well at home it's the same so we are used to it." 1.16 10. SLV/SV OF PEOPLE DRINKING COFFEE IN A BAR (2 SHOTS) 1.24 11. CU OF SIGN 'VIETATO FUMARE' 1.27 12. MCU (Italian) FRENCH TOURIST, JEREMIE, SAYING "I smoked a cigarette before coming in. Now I am going to have a quick coffee and then I'll run off." 1.35 13. SLV COFFEE SHOP 1.38 14. SLV PEOPLE BUYING NEWSPAPERS AT NEWS-STAND 1.44 15. CU NEWSPAPER HEADLINES SPEAKING OF NO SMOKING BAN (4 SHOTS) 1.59 16. SV PEOPLE BUYING NEWSPAPERS 2.04 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 25th January 2005 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: ROME, ITALY
- Country: Italy
- Reuters ID: LVAOF95JAR9UO3DSSSS0E708K27
- Story Text: Italian smoking ban in public places comes into effect.
Bar and restaurant owners were refusing to police a
smoking ban that came effect on Monday (January 10) in
Italy, a country where breaking the rules is often
considered a right.
The law relies on bar and restaurant owners, the
vast majority of whom have not built closed off smoking
rooms, to insure their customers do not smoke, with the
threat of a fine
of up to 2,000 euros ($2,646 U.S. dollars) if they do not.
But restaurant and bar owners say they refuse to be
the states sheriffs and will not call the police if their
customers light up.
"I would tell them not smoke - I would not report them
to the police, but I would call my
supervisor," said barman Mario Giacomelli.
The ban, delayed for a few days so revellers could
enjoy their last New Year celebrations in smoky bars,
aims to end passive smoking and deter those who choose to
pursue a habit which health officials say kills 90,000
people in Italy every year.
"The decision has been made and we will have to comply,
we are all going to smoke outside. It will probably mean
that we won't go to restaurants so often any more," said
dedicated smoker Annalisa Proietti.
But the ban didn't put off some tourists who arrived in
Rome.
"Well at home its the same so we are used to it," said
an Irish couple visiting the Italian capital.
"I smoked a cigarette before coming in. Now I am going
to have a quick coffee and then I'll run off," said French
tourist Jeremie who added he was relieved such a law did
not yet exist in France.
Although smokers are in the minority, 18 million out
of a total population of 58 million, many Italians are
sceptical of a prohibition which they feel smacks of American or
northern European puritanism.
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