Bar and restaurant owners protest against universal smoking ban

Bar, club and restaurant owners staged a demonstration outside the health ministry on Wednesday, to protest about the universal ban on smoking in indoor spaces, including bar and dining areas.

The protestors repeated their federation’s position that smoking should be allowed in public places where the public’s attendance was entirely optional and voluntary and only banned in areas that they were obliged to visit.

A health ministry announcement said that enforcement of the ban was continuing with more frequent inspections.

Cafe and bar owners, on their part, countered that the ban was leading their businesses into a swift decline and they were therefore forced to effectively ignore it.

After the demonstration outside the health ministry, the protestors marched to the interior and finance ministry wearing chefs’ hats and clanging cooking pots.

In an announcement, the health ministry indicated that it does not intend to back down and stressed that smoking had been identified by scientists in Greece and abroad as a major danger to public health and a primary factor in ailments such as cancer and respiratory disease.