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ATHENS, Greece (AP) - The old joke had it that the best way to find a gathering of Greeks was to listen for the noise and watch for the cloud of cigarette smoke. The Health Ministry wants to make the old saw passe, at least so far as the cigarette smoke goes.
European Union (news - web sites) figures show 44.9 percent of Greeks over age 15 smoke daily, the largest percentage among member countries and among the highest in the world.
"It is about time laws are actually upheld in this country. ... (about freaking time - general statement) Things have gotten out of hand," Health Minister Alekos Papadopoulos, himself a smoker, said Thursday.
He announced restrictions that would ban on outdoor tobacco advertising beginning in 2003. In October, no-smoking sections must be available in restaurants, coffee bars and many other public places — normally thick with tobacco smoke. Lighting up in taxis also will be outlawed.
"By general admission, Greece has delayed implementing anti-smoking programs," said Papadopoulos, whose announcement came on the eve of the U.N.'s World No Tobacco Day. "Compared with other European countries, these measures are minimal."
But one restaurant owner, Dimitris Papageorgiou, was unimpressed.
"These measures will not last. They'll be forgotten tomorrow," predicted Papageorgiou, whose Athens restaurant has four indoor tables.
"Segregated areas? Whoever wants to smoke or not smoke can do so," he said. "If they don't like it, they can go to McDonald's."
The French are next after the Greeks in the percentage that smoke at 38.3 percent. Sweden ranks last in the 15-member bloc at 22.1 percent.
Greeks are also notoriously wary of government restrictions. One newspaper cartoon this week showed smokers being exiled to a labor camp on a barren island.
Current smoking bans for public servants and in hospital waiting rooms are widely ignored. Papadopoulos said those laws would now be enforced with the threat of a three-month jail term.
He said he would ask charities, government agencies and Greece's powerful Orthodox Church to back an anti-smoking campaign in schools.
"We do not expect miracles from one day to the next," Papadopoulos said. "It is true that Greeks are defined by an internal sense of anarchy (no sh!t), but they also have a strong sense of fairness."
Even before the latest rules, smoking restrictions have slowly encroached on Greeks' everyday life.
Olympic Airways, the national airline, imposed a ban in 1996. And organizers of the Athens Olympics in 2004 have promised to make the games smoke-free.
Many Greeks who cater to tourists have already been forced to curb smoking.
"When we get tourists who ask for no-smoking areas, we set one up for them," said Giorgos Samiotis, owner of an Athens restaurant. "It's not a problem."
European Union (news - web sites) figures show 44.9 percent of Greeks over age 15 smoke daily, the largest percentage among member countries and among the highest in the world.
"It is about time laws are actually upheld in this country. ... (about freaking time - general statement) Things have gotten out of hand," Health Minister Alekos Papadopoulos, himself a smoker, said Thursday.
He announced restrictions that would ban on outdoor tobacco advertising beginning in 2003. In October, no-smoking sections must be available in restaurants, coffee bars and many other public places — normally thick with tobacco smoke. Lighting up in taxis also will be outlawed.
"By general admission, Greece has delayed implementing anti-smoking programs," said Papadopoulos, whose announcement came on the eve of the U.N.'s World No Tobacco Day. "Compared with other European countries, these measures are minimal."
But one restaurant owner, Dimitris Papageorgiou, was unimpressed.
"These measures will not last. They'll be forgotten tomorrow," predicted Papageorgiou, whose Athens restaurant has four indoor tables.
"Segregated areas? Whoever wants to smoke or not smoke can do so," he said. "If they don't like it, they can go to McDonald's."
The French are next after the Greeks in the percentage that smoke at 38.3 percent. Sweden ranks last in the 15-member bloc at 22.1 percent.
Greeks are also notoriously wary of government restrictions. One newspaper cartoon this week showed smokers being exiled to a labor camp on a barren island.
Current smoking bans for public servants and in hospital waiting rooms are widely ignored. Papadopoulos said those laws would now be enforced with the threat of a three-month jail term.
He said he would ask charities, government agencies and Greece's powerful Orthodox Church to back an anti-smoking campaign in schools.
"We do not expect miracles from one day to the next," Papadopoulos said. "It is true that Greeks are defined by an internal sense of anarchy (no sh!t), but they also have a strong sense of fairness."
Even before the latest rules, smoking restrictions have slowly encroached on Greeks' everyday life.
Olympic Airways, the national airline, imposed a ban in 1996. And organizers of the Athens Olympics in 2004 have promised to make the games smoke-free.
Many Greeks who cater to tourists have already been forced to curb smoking.
"When we get tourists who ask for no-smoking areas, we set one up for them," said Giorgos Samiotis, owner of an Athens restaurant. "It's not a problem."
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