Order! Greek lawmakers fume at smoking colleagues

May 20, 2013

Posted: Fri 8:04 AM, Feb 08, 2013

A A

Back to Local 8 Now - News - World

Order! Greek lawmakers fume at smoking colleagues

FILE - In this July 20, 2006 file photo, a woman smokes a cigarette during a break from work in downtown Chicago. New research published in the New England Journal of Medicine's issue coming out Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013, finds that women who smoke today have a much greater risk of dying from lung cancer than they did decades ago compared to those who never smoked. That is partly because they are starting younger and smoking more than women used to. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greek lawmakers are fuming over colleagues who openly flout the country's anti-smoking laws in the very building where the statutes were passed.

A cross-party group of 88 representatives wrote to the Parliament speaker Thursday urging action against what they call a "pathetic and infuriating" state of affairs.

Greece has one of the European Union's highest smoking rates. It introduced a strict law in 2010 to outlaw smoking in enclosed public areas. Violators face €50-€500 ($68-$680) fines.

It was the third anti-smoking law passed in recent years, but has met with no noticeable success: People still light up freely in bars, cafes, restaurants — and Parliament.

The lawmakers wrote that, apart from assembly halls, at times there is "not a single square meter" in Parliament where the law isn't broken.

Associated Press
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Next Story >