Chile’s Senate Approves Tough Anti-Smoking Law

Chile’s Senate approves tough anti-smoking law

SANTIAGO, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) — Chile’s Senate unanimously approved a tough anti-smoking law on Wednesday to curtail tobacco advertising and limit smoking areas.

The legislation, put forward in March, must still be voted on by the Chamber of Deputies, but is expected to be passed smoothly. Almost all parties in the parliament have backed the measures.

The law will outlaw the sale of cigarettes near schools and curtail tobacco advertising. It will also ban smoking in public places, such as government buildings, airports and hospitals.

Smoking will be permitted only in strictly designated areas in bars and restaurants.

Chile is considered as having one of the hemisphere’s highest tobacco use rates — the government says 26 percent of teen-age girls and 55 percent of women aged 19 to 25 smoke.

Meanwhile, the same percentage of Chilean teen-age boys smoke, as do 60 percent of adult men, the government National Narcotics Control Council said, adding that most Chileans have had their first cigarette by the age of 15.

The Chilean government promised in March to the World Health Organization that it will bring anti-smoking legislation in line with those of other member states.