THE ITALIAN LAW PROPOSAL ON TOBACCO CONTROL

Italy is becoming Europe's leader in fair and sensible tobacco control measures. The law proposal below, currently before the Italian Parliament, is very likely to become actual law. If this happens, it is likely that this law will inspire the European Parliament in Brussels. This law proposal sets an unprecedented standard for the equal protection of smokers' and nonsmokers' rights.

While we wish that North Americans would get the badly needed inspiration for the accommodation of both sides, we cannot fail to observe that North American governments, as well as a sizeable percentage of the population, often fail to consider good ideas that originate in other countries.

While the earmarks of fascism become every day more visible, many people believe that "it cannot happen here, the State is only trying to protect the victims." Well, this is exacly what well-design public opinion engineering wants to obtain: the gradual sliding into repression by what appears to be choice. It has happened before in Europe.

Fortunately, Europeans have learned not to trust the lures of state protection. And when a particular group, such as smokers, is threatened with social marginalization by unfair laws, people push back. The new Italian tobacco control proposal owes much to the energetic and public-spirited efforts of a vigorous smokers' rights movement.

Click here for the original Italian version

It should be noticed that Italy has one of the oldest tobacco control legislations in the world.
For at least five decades, it has been forbidden to:
  • Promote tobacco products on billboards
  • Promote tobacco products on newspapers
  • Promote tobacco products on radio and television
  • The State controls the sale and the price of tobacco by means of special resale points
  • Taxation consitutes 73% of the cost of the product

NATIONAL LEGISLATIVE CHAMBER

LAW PROPOSAL FOR THE REGULATION OF TOBACCO SMOKING

(Presented by Hon. Carla Mazzucca, M.P. -- A Nonsmoker)
Soon to be discussed by the Italian Parliament

PREAMBLE

Honourable Colleagues:

In Italy we have special and diversified legislation that regulates, case by case, the enforcement of "no smoking" in public areas , or in areasto the public. On this subject there has been an increased sensitivity of citizens, with respect to this subject, corresponding to an increased demand for better environmental quality, and the need to guarantee a general respect for the right to health, and sanitary conditions in the places where human activities and employment take place.

It is because of the need to defend the rights of workers that, in the past, there have been special smoking prohibitions in places of public service, especially in the transportation sector.

In recent years, however, the evolution of technology in the areas of air conditioning, ventilation and air purification has offered new opportunities for improving air quality for both smokers and nonsmokers.

In view of these advancements, it has now become necessary to overcome unjust discrimination against smokers, and this can no longer be deferred. This is to be done by establishing precise technical norms to define the characteristics of air purification systems capable of allowing smoking without endangering the health of anyone.

This is necessary because the present situation, where absurd wars between smokers and nonsmokers are created, is unacceptable. The motivations of these "wars" are often unrelated to a real evaluation of a problem often politicized and -- at any rate -- not completely known.

Together with the implementation of educational campaigns and the study of tobacco-related issues, the State must guarantee a peaceful civil coexistence of different lifestyles, sometimes rooted in ancient traditions, and difficult to overcome. That is why we cannot limit ourselves to encourage just reciprocal courtesy. It is necessary to dictate precise legislation capable of protecting anyone's health while guaranteeing the certainty of protecting rights.

The air quality problem, especially in urban areas, must be faced in its complexity, with particular respect to the exhaust fumes from motor vehicles. Very often smoking is forbidden in locales that are completely saturated with smog or at any rate not sufficiently ventilated in relation to the number of people they can normally host.

There is no doubt that smoke from tobacco is harmful to human health, but in this knowledge we must keep into account the level of exposure to this element in different situations. Moreover and at any rate, the principle of liberty must be respected. According to this principle, the smoker must be allowed to conduct the lifestyle that he/she considers appropriate, providing that there is no damage to others' health.

In Italy there are 14 million smokers, with all the consequences of conflict in workplace, bars, restaurants, and other public areas. This law proposal establishes a set of regulations in which establishments are mandated to employ adequate ventilation systems in order to protect the health of all citizens.

In this spirit, Article 1 establishes the principle that smoking restrictions, in order to be effective, must be explicit and evident.

Article 3 specifies in what areas described in Article 2 smoking is allowed, provided that adequate air conditioning/ventilation systems are present in those areas. The technical specifications of these systems will be identified by specific decree of the President of the Council of Ministers. Schools and Hospitals are exempted.

Article 4 establishes that, in areas where smoking is [generally] forbidden, special properly ventilated smoking rooms/sections must be provided for smokers. This norm applies to trains and airlines as well.

Article 5 foresees a gradual implementation of smoking restrictions in restaurants and bars. The smoking restrictions will be completely implemented within three years, but will not be applicable to areas where the tobacco smoke pollution does not exceed 10% of the total air pollution.

Article 6 establishes that smoking prohibition in the workplace can be applied only if 50% + 1 of the employees sharing the same work area are in agreement. Such prohibition cannot be implemented if tobacco smoke air pollution counts for less than 10% of the total pollution in the work area.

Article 7 establishes the applicable fines for noncompliance with smoking prohibition, or failure to properly display no smoking signs.

Article 8 forbids employers to discriminate between smoking and nonsmoking employees.

Article 9 affirms to smokers' rights associations full legal right to defend and protect the interests of smokers.


THE LAW PROPOSAL

ARTICLE 1

1. Smoking is allowed wherever there is no explicit visual indication to the contrary. In areas where smoking is forbidden, signs must be clearly posted. The signs must carry the verbiage "No Smoking", the law number, and the amounts of the fines for non compliance.

ARTICLE 2

1. Smoking is forbidden in the following enclosed and publicly accessible areas:

a) Hospitals and Clinics, public or private;
b) Any school and educational institution, including music conservatories, and Academies;
c) University rooms;
d) Organizations and Institutions for the care of minors;
e) Physical structures for sport activities;
f) Areas of congress and places of gathering;
g) Expositions, museums, libraries, art galleries, movie theatres, theatres, auditoriums, opera theatres, reading rooms, academy rooms;
h) Public structures for the service of the public where the public gathers for the purpose of meeting, waiting, or stopping;
i) Places of public business;
l) Waiting rooms in train stations, bus stations, ports, and airports;
m) State vehicles, and private vehicles used for the purpose of public transportation.

ARTICLE 3

1. Smoking prohibition does not apply to Article 2 (c), (e), (f), (g), (h), (i), (l), and (m) if the area can be properly ventilated by means of air conditioning, ventilation and other air purification systems.

2. The systems in (1) of this Article, and the ones in (1) of Article 4, must comply with the definition and classification established by the decree of the President of the Council of Ministers, on proposal of the Ministry of Health, and after consulting with the Ministries of Environment, Industry, Trades and Artisans. These specifications must be issued within 90 days from the implementation of the law.

ARTICLE 4

1. Where smoking prohibition applies, in the structures described in Article 2, properly ventilated areas or rooms where smoking is allowed must be provided.

2. In particular, Managers are mandated to provide properly ventilated smoking areas in the waiting rooms of movie theatres,hospitals, university and schools, airports, conventions, and bus, metro and railroad stations.

3. The National Railroad and its subcontractors are mandated to allow smoking in local, regional, national and international trains, irrespective of the duration of the trip, in special cars or car compartments reserved to smokers for a minimum of a quarter of the areas reserved to nonsmokers, and ensuring proper ventilation of the areas.

4. Alitalia [*] S.p.A., Ati [*] S.p.A., Meridiana [*] S.p.A., and all other private airlines are mandated to allow smoking on national and international flights, irrespective of their duration, in special rows reserved for smokers, in a proportion not less than one quarter of the total number of rows reserved for nonsmokers. The areas must be provided with adequate ventilation.

ARTICLE 5

1. Within three years from the implementation of this law smoking prohibition is to be applied to restaurants and pubs, under the condition that there has been verification, by means of adequate air quality analysis, that the smoke deriving from tobacco combustion represents an amount exceeding 10% of the total of air pollution factors in the areas to which the smoking prohibition applies.

2. If the tests performed in (1) indicate that the percentage of tobacco-related pollutants is less than 10%, the Management is mandated to provide (within 90 days from inspection) the installation of an adequate air circulation and purification system.

3. If instead the tests performed in (1) indicate that the percentage of tobacco-related pollutants exceeds 10%, the smoking prohibition applies. In any case, the Management is still mandated to provide to smoking patrons a separate area/room provided with adequate ventilation/purification systems in which smoking is allowed.

ARTICLE 6

1. The smoking prohibition can be extended to public and private workplaces, limited to enclosed areas hosting more than one person, on expressed request of 50% + 1 of the employees sharing the same area. The smoking prohibition shall be applied only after verification, through special instrumentation, that the amount of pollutants deriving from tobacco combustion exceeds 10% of the total pollution of the area to which the prohibition must be applied.

2. If the tests performed in (1) indicate that the percentage of tobacco-related pollutants is less than 10%, the Employer is mandated to provide (within 90 days from inspection) the installation of an adequate air circulation and purification system.

3. If instead the tests performed in (1) indicate that the percentage of tobacco-related pollutants exceeds 10%, the smoking prohibition applies. In any case, the Employer is still mandated to provide to smoking patrons a separate area/room provided with adequate ventilation/purification systems in which smoking is allowed.

ARTICLE 7

1. Whoever smokes in a no smoking is subject to punishment with a fine ranging from 50,000 to 100,000 Liras [**]

2. Individuals or organizations responsible for posting the appropriate no smoking signs are punishable with fines ranging from 1,000,000 to 5,000,000 Liras [***] for non compliance.

3. The enforcement of this law is the jurisdiction of the Police Force.

ARTICLE 8

1. Employers are forbidden in any way, shape or form, directly or indirectly, from discriminating against smoking employees in any aspect of the working relationship, with particular emphasis on selection, hiring, remuneration and career advancement.

ARTICLE 9

1. Any discrimination against smoking citizens is forbidden. Organizations representing smoking citizens have the authority and can through the legal system defend the rights of their members in any jurisdiction, through every level of the court system in the country.

_________________

[*] Italian Air Carriers
[**] $50 to $100 Canadian, $32 to $65 U.S.
[***] $1,000 to $5,000 Canadian, $650 to $3,350 U.S.

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