Underage smoking still serious problem
And now we turn to a frequent topic in the Czech Republic: accession to the European Union. A major part of the accession process has been to bring Czech law into line with the EU. One of the laws which has been recently passed and which comes into effect on January 1 is a law banning smoking in the work place and in many public places. A great number of Czechs will be effected by the clampdown, a large percentage of which will be teenagers. So what makes them take up the habit despite the constant media health warnings. Irena Valkova gets the view from the school yard as to why so many young people smoke while the older generation is desperately trying to quit:
