Stiff smoking penalties afoot

29th January 2010

Tough new anti-smoking legislation could inflict a painful financial blow on anybody willing to light up in smoke-free places.

Under new legislation now being debated in parliament smokers will have to pay as much as PLN 500 if they are caught smoking in an area where the habit is banned. The fine is five-times the amount proposed under original legislation.

“This will force smokers to conscientiously comply with the smoking bans,” argued Law and Justice’s (PiS) Boleslaw Piecha, the head of the parliamentary health committee and one of the law’s supporters.

The legislation reflects growing concern in Poland over the effects of passive smoking and could call time on Poland’s t ...