On 1 January 2012, the amendment of the Act on the protection of non-smokers has entered into force, which introduced stricter requirements for smoking beginning with 2012. In the practice, this means that save for a few special cases, the regulation bans smoking in indoors, as well as in certain outdoor areas. However, a grace period has been given until 1 April 2012 for those facilities involved.

Smoking is perhaps the most significant public health issue in Hungary. Today, 37.8 percent of adult males and 23 percent of adult females smoke regularly, the number of cigarettes smoked annually per capita exceeds two thousand pieces. It is also a distressing fact that people take up smoking at an increasingly earlier age. It is the Government’s intention to reverse this trend. In Hungary, a person dies every eighteenth minute due to smoking, resulting in the loss of 70 Hungarian citizens daily and almost 30 thousand annually due to diseases related to this harmful addiction. According to international experience, these figures can be significantly reduced through regulations restricting smoking. This means that more lives can be saved this way compared to healthcare treatments.

Based on the experiences of the past three months, we can conclude that the facilities covered by the Act are familiar with, accept and support the protection of non-smokers. However, several catering facilities did not comply with the ban until the 1 April, since the authorities have only issued warnings to them, but following the 1 April, not complying with the regulation entails a fine.

(kormany.hu)