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More Brazilian States Opt for Smoke-Free Environments
By Keith R | September 29, 2009
Topics: Tobacco Control | 4 Comments »
The push for smoke-free environments continues to march across Brazilian states — how long before federal legislators decide to extend such protections nationwide?
Today the governors of the southern state of Paraná (PR) and the western state of Amazonas (AM) signed new tobacco control laws, joining Ceará (CE), Rio de Janeiro (RJ) and São Paulo (SP) in restricting smoking in public places. Both new laws have similar definitions of which places smoking should be banned, and both, as in the case of RJ and SP, charge those generally responsible for these places (employer, owner, manager, operator, etc.) with enforcing the ban and subject them to fines if they are found not doing so. If they view an employee, user or consumer violating the Law, and if they refuse to comply, retire them from the premises, if necessary with the help of police force.
Two interesting differences: the AM law includes electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) [even though the federal government just banned their sale and promotion], and the PR law also bans smoking in vehicles in which there are children or pregnant women present. Another difference: the PR law simply references the sanctions in existing federal health law, while AM specifies a range of fines, depending on severity and whether the violator is a repeat offender, of R$1,000-50,000 without prejudice to federal health sanctions (in other words, both can be used).
Both laws ban smoking of any product (whether derived from tobacco or not) in “environments of collective use, whether public or private” if partially or totally enclosed, wherever people stay or circulate. Both laws say that this explicitly covers workplaces, culture environments, leisure environments, religious environments, sport or training environments, common areas in condominiums, nightclubs, theaters, cinemas, bars, luncheonettes, boats, restaurants, food courts, hotels, inns, shopping centers/malls, banks, supermarkets, butcher shops, bakeries, pharmacies, government offices, health institutions, schools or study environments, museums, libraries, exhibition spaces, public or private collective transport (including planes and ferries), official cars and all types of taxis.
Tags: açougues, Amazonas, ambientes de trabalho, bakeries, bancos, banks, bares, bars, bibliotecas, boates, Brasil, Brazil, casas de espetáculos, Ceará, centros comerciais, children, cinemas, condomínios, condominiums, drogarias, e-cigarretes, electronic cigarettes, escolas, espaços de exposições, exhibition spaces, farmácias, ferries, food courts, hoteis, hotels, inns, instituições de saúde, lanchonetes, libraries, luncheonettes, museums, museus, nightclubs, padarias, Paraná, pharmacies, planes, pousadas, praças de alimentação, pregnant women, public health, public transport, repartições públicas, restaurantes, restaurants, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, saúde pública, schools, shopping centers, supermercados, táxis, teatros, theaters, Tobacco Control, transporte coletivo, vehicles, veículos, viaturas oficiais, workplaces
March 13th, 2013 at 18:27
The adoption of laws that prohibit smoking in public places is essential for a good relationship between smokers and nonsmokers. The use of punishments such as fines to offenders makes these laws to be met with more respect. When a non-smoker comes in contact with cigarette smoke, he/she is being exposed to diseases, which could have been prevented if there was more awareness on the part of the smoker.
March 24th, 2013 at 10:49
The law restricting smoking in public places is totally correct and should be fulfilled, because the cigarette smoke, in addition to annoy people (there are people who can not stand the smell and contact with the smoke), is very bad for health. Studies show that cigarettes leave in the air a residual nicotine, which gets stuck for months in the environment (and is injurious to health). With this, the number of ‘passive smoking’ increases much, since just contact with contaminated environment. With this, there must be areas reserved for smokers.
March 26th, 2013 at 7:53
For years, the federal government and other sectors of health care awareness and has been working in the campaign against cigarette. With more states participating and developing laws that reduce the use of cigarettes, it is easier to combat the use of tobacco in public places and aware that such use is detrimental to anyone who is a smoker and nonsmoker (call passive smoker). I hope that there are surveillance law is enforced properly.
April 2nd, 2013 at 22:54
With each passing year I realize that the government has tried to ban the use of cigarettes, and that the anti-smoking movement has become increasingly strong. First was removing the advertisements, both on television and on billboards as sponsorship (which was very common in formula 1). After the cigarette companies themselves began to put on their packaging that the product caused harm health. Now I see clearly the government’s effort to get the cigarettes from the streets, public places, and Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro have already adopted, it will surely spread throughout the national territory, as is already happening in Paraná and Amazonas. I believe it is a great idea, and certainly will improve the relationship between smokers and non-smokers or passive smokers in the case, since only those who smoke will want in your space and in appropriate locations. And if someone comes disrespecting people’s health, but deserves to be punished.
I see no harm in smoking, because sometimes not the fault of the person, it becomes dependent and ends up becoming an addiction, but it is necessary that the smoker respects the others that are around you. The smoking is both bad for someone who is smoking, as to who is breathing the smoke. All this is a common sense of society.