Czech Government Fails to Reach Consensus on Restaurant Smoking Ban

Summary: The Czech center-left coalition government, which includes the Social Democratic Party (CSSD), the "ANO Movement" (ANO), and the Christian Democratic Union (KDU-CSL), failed to reach a consensus on the proposal to "ban smoking in all restaurants."
According to reports from Chinese electronic cigarette news: On August 28, the Czech cabinet neither agreed nor opposed the proposal to ban smoking in all restaurants, which was suggested by a member of parliament from the "ANO Movement" (ANO).
The Czech center-left coalition government, which includes the Social Democratic Party (CSSD), the "ANO Movement" (ANO), and the Christian Democratic Union (KDU-CSL), could not reach a consensus on this proposal.
The cabinet stated that its initial position was generally in favor of this ban, but it hoped for a broader version of the bill. The Ministry of Health plans to submit it by the end of this year.
Despite the differences in government opinions, the draft from the "ANO Movement" (ANO) will be submitted to the House of Representatives and the lower house of parliament, where it will be discussed in September.
According to the draft, smoking will be banned in all public dining facilities, except for outdoor areas of public dining facilities.
The government criticized the ambiguous wording in the draft. For example, it was unclear whether the ban only applied to tobacco products or also to electronic cigarettes.
The government-prepared draft will prohibit smoking in restaurants and also ban the sale of alcoholic products and cigarettes from vending machines. Additionally, restaurants must offer at least one non-alcoholic beverage that is cheaper than the cheapest alcoholic beverage of the same volume (usually referring to beer).
The government draft also prohibits smoking in outdoor areas of hospitals.
Every year, 18,000 people die in the Czech Republic due to smoking-related consequences. Smoking causes 90% of lung cancer and increases the risk of heart disease and stroke by ten times. Smokers make up 30% of the Czech population of 10.5 million.