Attempt to introduce smoking ban in public places fails in Poland

An attempt to impose a complete ban on smoking in public places in Poland failed on Friday 26 March, when its Senate approved a bill that will allow smoking in bars and restaurants that have more than one room, as long as a no smoking room is provided, and in hotels and student accommodation.

Łukasz Balwicki, of the Department of Public Health and Social Medicine at the Medical University of Gdańsk, expressed regret at the failure to introduce a full smoking ban. He said that the tobacco lobby had worked hard against a comprehensive ban on smoking in public. “The tobacco industry tried to convince [the government] that new stronger regulations would lower revenue . . . coming …