Smoking Banned in Public and Commercial Closed Spaces in Venezuela

From 31 May, resolution number 39,627 of Venezuela”s Ministry of Health will come into effect, banning smoking in closed areas, whether on public or private property.

In the streets, even the informal sector of economy has been selling posters which read “This is a 100% smoke-free environment,” in compliance with the resolution.

According to the new norm, “it is prohibited to smoke or light any tobacco product inside public places and working area, including the transit system.”

The measure will come fully into effect on No Smoking Day [31 May], with a 90 day period stipulated in the norm for implementation nationwide, in compliance with Resolution Nº 30, released in  the Official Gazette on 2 March this year.

Owners and managers of public places and/or work places will be obliged to hang up a notice to the public announcing that they are entering a 100% smoke-free area and that smoking is banned there.

As lawyer Enrique Herra Silla said to a local newspaper,  the norm applies to “places that are freely accessible to the public, regardless of their owner.” Further, the resolution includes work places, irrespective of their use, as well as the public transport system.

The smoke-free area policy is one of the important  achievements of the Venezuelan government in terms of disease prevention and health promotion, when taking into account that lung cancer is one of the main causes of death world wide.

The Smoke-free Resolution is based on the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, the Organic Health Law, and the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which was passed by the World Health Organisation in 2005 and was ratified by Venezuela in 2006.

Edited by Venezuelanalysis.com