Comments on: Greece’s smoking ban not working, say officials http://eu.greekreporter.com/2010/02/05/greeces-smoking-ban-not-working-say-officials/ Greek News from Europe Fri, 10 Feb 2012 19:26:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Kostas http://eu.greekreporter.com/2010/02/05/greeces-smoking-ban-not-working-say-officials/comment-page-1/#comment-1311 Kostas Tue, 09 Feb 2010 14:51:56 +0000 http://eu.greekreporter.com/?p=534#comment-1311 It's a real shame, there are Greeks who are actually proud of this disgraceful "achievement". They think it shows their rebellious spirit........ It just shows how backward we really are. It’s a real shame, there are Greeks who are actually proud of this disgraceful “achievement”. They think it shows their rebellious spirit…….. It just shows how backward we really are.

]]> By: Yannis http://eu.greekreporter.com/2010/02/05/greeces-smoking-ban-not-working-say-officials/comment-page-1/#comment-1304 Yannis Tue, 09 Feb 2010 09:28:02 +0000 http://eu.greekreporter.com/?p=534#comment-1304 You have to understand cynical Mediterranean politics. The July 1 ban was never intended to work. This is obvious because (a) there has been almost no enforcement, (b) confusing details of the law were never clarified until the night before it came into force, (c) the informational campaign before the law came into effect was totally inadequate. Greek governments are quite capable of enforcing laws when they feel like it but they have no interest in changing health behavior. In the heaviest smoking country in the world, with a rapidly aging population who are a time bomb of smoking-related illness, and a health system that has been on the verge of financial collapse for years, this situation is little short of criminally negligent on the part of successive Greek governments. There is almost no effective public health education in Greece and many Greeks do not understand or accept the dangers of passive smoking, especially for children and those with respiratory illnesses. Greek doctors, too, are to blame for their spinelessness - apparently showing no leadership and taking no advocacy role in this issue, unlike most doctors in the UK, the US and Australia who have been passionately anti smoking. With Greece's huge debt now under the international spotlight, it's time for the EU and other groupings to consider the huge financial costs of Greece's abject failure to protect both its citizens and tourists from the life threatening hazards of passive smoke. You have to understand cynical Mediterranean politics. The July 1 ban was never intended to work. This is obvious because (a) there has been almost no enforcement, (b) confusing details of the law were never clarified until the night before it came into force, (c) the informational campaign before the law came into effect was totally inadequate. Greek governments are quite capable of enforcing laws when they feel like it but they have no interest in changing health behavior. In the heaviest smoking country in the world, with a rapidly aging population who are a time bomb of smoking-related illness, and a health system that has been on the verge of financial collapse for years, this situation is little short of criminally negligent on the part of successive Greek governments. There is almost no effective public health education in Greece and many Greeks do not understand or accept the dangers of passive smoking, especially for children and those with respiratory illnesses. Greek doctors, too, are to blame for their spinelessness – apparently showing no leadership and taking no advocacy role in this issue, unlike most doctors in the UK, the US and Australia who have been passionately anti smoking.

With Greece’s huge debt now under the international spotlight, it’s time for the EU and other groupings to consider the huge financial costs of Greece’s abject failure to protect both its citizens and tourists from the life threatening hazards of passive smoke.

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