TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras -- Lighting up a cigarette at home could bring a visit from Honduran police if a family member or even a visitor complains about secondhand smoke.
A new law that took effect Monday banning smoking in most public and private spaces doesn't actually outlaw cigarettes inside homes, but it does have a provision allowing people to file complaints about secondhand smoke in homes.
Violations would bring a verbal warning on the first offense. After that could come arrest and a US$311 fine — the equivalent of the monthly minimum wage in this Central American country.
Even some anti-smoking advocates suspect that part of the law may not work.
“It seems its intention is to educate by way of complaints, a move that I do not find very feasible,” said Armando Peruga, a program manager at the World Health Organization's Tobacco-Free Initiative.
He did praise Honduras for adopting a broad anti-smoking law, noting it is only the 29th nation to adopt such a law out of WHO's 193 member states.
But Peruga said the clause allowing family members to call the police on their smoker relatives is confusing. The clause “does not make much sense since the law clearly does not prohibit smoking at homes.”
The law bans smoking in most closed public or private spaces and orders smokers to stand at least six feet (1.8 meters) away from nonsmokers in any open space.
The law also outlaws all advertising for tobacco products and requires photos of lungs affected by cancer to be placed on cigarette packs. Tobacco and cigarette companies have 60 days to comply with both requirements.
In Honduras, 30 percent of the people smoke, and nine out of 10 Hondurans suffering from acute bronchitis live in homes where there is a smoker, according to Honduran health authorities.
For every U.S. dollar that the tobacco industry makes in Honduras, the state spends US$10 to fight smoking-related diseases, according to the nation's Health Department.
The law says businesses, such as bars or restaurants, which allow smoking could be fined between US$1,000 and US$6,000 and repeat offenders could be shut down.
Above news quoted form: http://www.chinapost.com.tw/international/americas/2011/02/23/292166/Honduras-adopts.htm
It’s a good and exhilarating news. I wish we can popularize this kind of smoking law in Taiwan. But the truth is it’s really hard to do this . For people don’t smoke, I feel it’s really a good policy to apply in every country. For people who smoke must hate this news and they don’t want to have too many restrictions on smoking. I don’t understand why smokers know smoking is not good for their health but they just can’t give up smoking. I guess just like I can’t help eat dessert even I was full.
I can’t stand the smoke around me and it makes me feel uncomfortable. My husband doesn’t smoke and this was one of reason why I married him. There are only two my family members who smoke every day. One is my brother and another one is my father in law. I try to ask them to break the habit of smoking but it never works. It’s not only for their health but also for the whole family. I still keep asking them to swear off tobacco until now.
