Three institutions will be empowered with the right to impose fines for smoking in public places. These are the National Public Health Center, the General Police Inspectorate, and the State Labor Inspectorate. Relevant amendments to the Law on Tobacco and Tobacco Products were submitted to the Government for approval.
Contacted by IPN, first vice director of the National Public Health Center Ion Salaru said the bill with amendments distributes the duties between the competent institutions. The National Public Health Center will monitor the institutions with the status of legal entity. The Labor Inspectorate will deal with the workplaces, while the Police Inspectorate with the public areas. When it is amended, the law will definitively ban smoking in enclosed public places, while the managers of institutions will be responsible for the observance of the law.
The fines for breaking the law vary between 1,000 and 4,000 lei. The manager of a public institution will have to formulate policies to ban smoking and even to modify the relevant regulations of the institution. If the employees do not comply, they risk being fired, based on the provisions of the Labor Code.
The Law on Tobacco and Tobacco Products is amended in accordance with the national tobacco control program for 2012-2016 as well as the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control and the EU directives.
