Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1522936
16 NEWS maltatoday | SUNDAY • 23 JUNE 2024 JAMES DEBONO jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt mcast.edu.mt 73% of Maltese want smoking ban in open-air places TWENTY years on from the in- troduction of Malta's smoking ban in bars and restaurants, a recently published Eurobarome- ter survey has now shown wide- spread agreement with a ban on smoking in public spaces such as parks, beaches, and the entrance of public spaces where social dis- tancing cannot be enforced. While in the EU as a whole, 56% support such a measure, in Malta a whopping 73% agree with the kind of ban. A majority of Maltese (52%) al- so support a ban on e-cigarette flavours in contrast to just 43% in the EU as a whole. 92% of Maltese also report ex- posure to smoking in these pub- lic spaces, compared to 69% of all EU respondents. 81% report smoking on bus termini. The survey shows that slight- ly more than a fifth (22%) of the Maltese population smokes cig- arettes while 3% smoke e-ciga- rettes. The percentage of smok- ers in Malta is slightly lower than that in the whole EU (24%). But the percentage of smokers has increased by 2 points compared to 2021 The percentage of current smokers is lowest in Sweden (8%), Denmark (14%), and Fin- land (15%) and highest in Greece (36%), Croatia (35%), and Roma- nia (34%). E-cigarette use is also highest in Greece (8%). The percentage of smokers is higher among those who strug- gle with paying bills (39%) than among those who have no diffi- culty paying bills (20%). The sit- uation is similar to that in other EU member states, where the poorest segment of the popula- tion is also more likely to have a smoking habit. Across Europe, respondents who consider themselves as be- longing to the working class were the most likely to say that they currently smoke (33%) while those identifying with the upper middle class the least likely (19%). The percentage of smokers is also higher among males (26%) and those aged 25-29 (31%). But significantly, only 11% of those aged between 15 and 24 smoke, in contrast to 22% of EU respond- ents in the same age group. Malta's ban on smoking in bars and restaurants had been intro- duced in 2004 by the health min- istry, amid criticism from busi- nesses, with the General Retailers and Traders' Union threatening to defy the law because of penal- ties that included withdrawal of trading licences. At the time, the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association complained that the legal notice had been passed without any consultation. The Chamber of Commerce had also voiced concerns about the regu- lations. At the time, the health minister Louis Deguara had insisted that the law reflected the expressed wish of over 80% of the Maltese public in respect of the introduc- tion of smoking restrictions.