Czechs want separate non-smoking rooms in restaurants

Sixty-four percent of Czechs, including half of all smokers, would welcome separate non-smoking rooms in restaurants, according to a poll published in Lidove Noviny. Only twenty percent of respondents said it was unnecessary. The lower house of Parliament is to begin discussing a proposed amendment to the smoking law this week, which would further restrict smoking in public areas. The proposal envisages a smoking ban at children's playgrounds and stipulates that restaurants would have to have separate rooms for smokers. At present the owner can simply put up a smokers notice in one part of the restaurant without screening it off in any way. The Czech Republic remains one of the most liberal countries for smokers in Europe and observers say that efforts to push through a stricter legislation are likely to meet with strong opposition in Parliament.