Posted on 08/11/2002 4:31:20 PM PDT by fella
Dahan: Anti-Smoking Law Has Failed
Judy Siegel-Itzkovich Aug. 11, 2002
The year-old law giving municipalities major responsibility for enforcing the law barring smoking in public places has failed, Health Minister Nissim Dahan has admitted. He intends to present a bill to the Knesset when it returns from its summer recess that will let Health Ministry inspectors collect fines from violators in addition to police and municipal inspectors.
Dahan said that although municipalities are entitled to keep the fines, they do not actively enforce the law. The fine for the first violation is NIS 270. The ministry had expected that collecting these fines would be incentive enough for municipalities to vigorously enforce the law, but instead, the local authorities have demanded from the Treasury extra funding for inspectors before hiring new ones.
There are hundreds of district health office inspectors, some of whom visit restaurants, shopping malls, cafes, and food manufacturing facilities every few weeks. Dahan wants them to be able to fine owners whose customers are caught smoking where it is illegal.
Dahan also wants the proprietors to be responsible for preventing smoking in their businesses. But although ministry officials were not aware of this, such a change would require an amendment to the law.
Amos Hausner, legal counsel of the Forum for the Prevention of Smoking, congratulated Dahan on his realization that the law has failed and his initiative to empower public health workers to enforce it. He said, however, that the fine is "very low and not a deterrent," and that it should be NIS 1,000 for the first offense and NIS 2,000 for subsequent violations. He noted, for example, that there is a NIS 50,000 fine on the books for leaving building waste in undesignated areas.
Hausner also said that education efforts, including effective public service announcements, are necessary to reduce violations of the no-smoking laws and to reduce the rate of smoking which has dropped from 28 percent two years ago to 26% today.
A recent poll has shown that 80% of smokers and even more non-smokers favor barring smoking in public places. Although there is room for improvement, Hausner said he has noticed a significant reduction in smoking in public places in the past year, partly because non-smokers are standing up for their rights.
" the fine is "very low and not a deterrent," " Just goes to show that all this anti-smoking stuff is really about the money first and the power and control second.
So has the law against murder!
Looks like it's "open season" on Homo sapiens!
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