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With World No Tobacco Day (31st May 2010) encouraging smokers around the globe to stub out their cigarettes, cheap flights comparison site Skyscanner reveals the best countries to escape the smoke and the countries where stubborn smokers can light up in peace!
Smokeless Zones
- Iceland – smoking and the use of tobacco in enclosed public spaces including bars, restaurants and clubs, as well as public land intended for use by children, is banned in Iceland. Unfortunately, the smoking ban does not apply to volcanoes.
Ireland – the Emerald Isle led the way with its anti-tobacco laws, being the first country in the world to enforce an outright ban on smoking in enclosed workplaces, which includes clubs, bars, restaurants and clubs. - Australia – anti-smoking travellers catching flights to Australia will be pleased to know that smoking in enclosed public spaces is banned throughout the country. Australians have extra reason to be careful whilst smoking and driving as at least one of the major bushfires in Victoria last year were thought to have been started by a lit cigarette thrown from a car.
- Canada – bars and restaurants in Canada have been smoke-free zones for several years now and in some provinces shop owners are required to keep tobacco out of sight of customers.
- Norway – smoking has been banned in cafes, restaurants and bars since 2004 and the number of smokers has steadily declined over the last decade. However, a type of oral tobacco called ‘snus’, remains popular, with one in five young men using it daily.
Smokey Zones
- Andorra – for a country which boasts one of the highest life expectancies in the world, it’s perhaps surprising that smoking in bars, restaurants or clubs in this Pyrenean principality is permitted. The fact that Andorra is a duty-free country means that it will be popular with smokers looking for bargain cigarettes.
- Spain – although no-smoking laws were introduced in Spain in 2006, enforcement has been lax and most bars and restaurants continue to permit smokers. A new, stricter law is set to be introduced by the end of 2010, so smokers will need to catch flights to Spain soon if they wish to enjoy a cigarette indoors.
- Serbia – smoking bans in Serbia tend to be more theoretical than actual. Bars and restaurants still permit smoking and even where they don’t, it’s not unusual to see people casually lighting up in front of a ‘no smoking’ sign.
- Japan – smokers are welcomed with open arms in the Land of the Rising Sun where smoking is permitted in bars and restaurants across most of the country. Add to that the low cost of cigarettes, and Japan remains a smoker’s stronghold.
- Greece – Greece is Europe’s biggest smoking nation. Despite efforts to ban smoking in restaurants, pubs and clubs, the law has not been widely enforced so smokers can still be found puffing away in public places all over the country.
TravelDailyNews Asia-Pacific editorial team has an experience of over 35 years in B2B travel journalism as well as in tourism & hospitality marketing and communications.
