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Government to Ban Smoking in Cars |
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By News
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Sunday, 31 January 2010 |
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The Finnish government is proposing banning smoking in cars where there are minors and communal areas of housing as early as June.
Kari Paaso, a civil servant who advises the health minister on welfare, told 65DN that, ‘The law proposes a ban on smoking in private cars if there is anyone in the car who is under the age of eighteen.
‘Smoking will not be banned in private apartments but in the shared areas of private apartments such as a communal balcony, corridors or sauna room.’
The new law will also ban advertising of cigarettes even at the point of sale. ‘In 1975, already, it became illegal to advertise cigarettes but now shops will not be able to display them.’
The act will also tighten-up smoking in hotels. It will be banned apart from in certain designated smoking rooms. However, smoking will not be completely outlawed in public places. Certain bars will still be allowed a special sealed-off smoking room, as long as the smoke cannot leak into the rest of the bar and as long as customers do not bring their drinks into the room.
Finland does not produce any cigarettes herself. All cigarettes are imported through three multi-national companies: Philip Morris, British American Tobacco and Imperial Tobacco.
Nobody from the Finnish branches of any of these companies could be reached for comment.
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