A complete ban on smoking in Bulgaria's public spaces might be introduced from June 1 2010 if Parliament approves amendments to the Health Act. The Health Ministry requested the amendments at a seminar it organised on the topic on September 29.

Currently, Bulgaria has some restrictions on smoking in public areas, introduced in 2007, but only as far as having separate sections in restaurants, bars and coffee shops reserved for smokers and non-smokers. The idea back in 2007 was to have strong ventilation systems to limit the effects of tobacco smoke on non-smokers.

Having sections for smokers and non-smokers was made possible after the Government bowed to pressure from shop, restaurant and bar owners who claimed that their businesses would suffer if a complete ban on smoking were introduced.

The ban was originally proposed as part of the National Programme for Limiting Tobacco Smoking in Bulgaria 2007-2010, but on February 1 2007, the Cabinet decided not to implement it fully. This meant that the Government had the chance to say where smoking would be banned and where there would only be some restrictions. As a result, smoking was allowed in public places, with restaurant owners having a certain number of tables reserved for non-smokers, the rest of the restaurant being free for smoking.

The situation became ridiculous in some bars that had two out of four tables reserved for non-smokers, making the restrictions non-functional. Furthermore, in order to please their customers, shop, restaurant and bar owners have had little problem allowing people to smoke at tables in a non-smoking area. The fines of 50 leva for those in breach of regulations made no difference. But now, it seems, the Government has decided to go all the way and introduce a complete ban on smoking in public spaces.

In May 2007, a Eurobarometer survey said that just 11 per cent of Bulgarians were following restrictions on smoking in public places, while the rate in other European Union countries was 54 per cent on average.

If the ban is implemented, Bulgaria will join the UK, Italy, Ireland, France, the Scandinavian countries and Malta.

The Government is expected to discuss the amendments to the act by the end of October.

To support their proposal to ban smoking completely, representatives of the ministry published worrying data on the number of smokers in Bulgaria. According to a National Centre of Public Health Protection survey from the end of last year, close to 45 per cent of Bulgarians smoke. From 1986 to 2007, female smokers have increased by more than 20 per cent, with smoking rapidly spreading among teenagers, of whom 30 per cent smoke regularly, have smoked in the past or have tried smoking.

Dr Masha Gavrilova from the ministry told the seminar that there were children who began smoking as young as seven or eight years of age, especially in Roma communities. Gavrilova said that the ministry planned educational activities in primary and secondary schools around the country. She added that, compared with other European countries, which have various initiatives to curtail smoking, in Bulgaria there is still no such national strategy. Considering the percentage of smokers, she said, the country fell somewhere in the middle of other countries in Europe.