New tobacco protection law “stuck” in parliamentary procedure: 8 amendments and debate over “smoking rooms”

The new tobacco protection law has stalled in parliamentary procedure in North Macedonia, even though the stricter new rules were initially expected to take effect as early as March this year, according to 24 Vesti.

According to 24 Vesti, the proposal has only reached its second reading in the Health Committee. Parliament says 8 amendments have been submitted, on which a group of MPs has requested additional opinions from domestic experts and businesses dealing in tobacco products; once the requested opinions arrive, the committee will continue the procedure.

Health Minister Sasho Klekovski says that among the proposals was the introduction of “smoking rooms,” but the ministry has given a negative opinion, because they would allow circumventing the stricter new rules the bill envisages. “Such rooms exist in some countries with technical-technological solutions (negative pressure) that we cannot achieve even in our operating rooms, let alone in restaurants,” Klekovski said, as reported by 24 Vesti.

He stressed that there has been a productive dialogue with the hospitality chamber and other stakeholders and considers the current solution optimal, while Parliament must be engaged so the law passes through three committees and reaches a plenary session for approval. The final version of the bill, as 24 Vesti reports, has undergone several concessions under pressure from the public and the business sector.

The law envisages a smoking ban in enclosed spaces not only for classic cigarettes but also electronic ones: smoking will not be allowed in public institutions, private companies, educational institutions, bus and train stations, markets and crowded places, or in cars if there are minor children. Terraces of bars will have to be open on at least two sides, with a one-year adaptation deadline. The goal, according to health authorities, is to protect citizens from the harmful effects of tobacco and reduce treatment costs.