SMOKING AREA

Smoking is a habit that people have indulged in for hundreds of years. Little has been written about the harm that the vice does, and many people have fallen victim to it. But nothing changes, except perhaps for the worst. Now you can frequently come across female smokers and even teenage ones.

Smoking is going on everywhere

In Azerbaijan the situation is absolutely to be regretted. According to the statistics, one in every three people is a regular smoker; no-one even dares to count the number of passive smokers. According to World Health Organisation [WHO] data, Azerbaijan is one of the world leaders in the number of smokers it has and the average number of cigarettes smoked per head of the population. People are smoking everywhere - in the streets, on the transport, in cafes and shops. According to the Azerbaijan Republic's law "On tobacco and tobacco items", it is prohibited to sell tobacco items to people under the age of 18 years. But this rule is being broken everywhere, and not just broken, but is simply not being observed, and the observance of this law is not being sufficiently well monitored. Twelve- and thirteen-year-olds often pop into the shop for a packet of cigarettes, and the shop assistant calmly sells it to them. If the shop assistant is asked whether he knows the law, more often than not he says that the children are buying the cigarettes for their father. Moreover, since the shop assistant is interested in selling his goods, the shop owner is rarely choosy about what the customer is buying.

Naturally all this seriously aggravates the non-smoking public. Essentially, there are hardly any institutions in our country where strict restrictions and a no-smoking ban have been introduced. A few years ago, deputy Qanira Pasayeva spoke about the need to introduce a law restricting smoking in public places. Qanira xanim said the enforcement of even a substantial law leaves much to be desired, since for example the ban on selling tobacco products in close proximity to educational and children's institutions is not being observed.

How can one even talk about a new law when things are like this. The bill on banning smoking in enclosed premises was never adopted. It is not even on the agenda for the spring session of the Milli Maclis [parliament]. It has become known that consideration of it has been postponed for a year or two owing to some controversial elements in it. On the whole, in compliance with this bill, a ban was considered on smoking in a number of enclosed premises, on public transport, at cultural and sports institutions, except for prisons, psychiatric hospitals and old people's homes (it would be permitted to smoke in those places), as well as the imposition of a number of administrative sanctions in the form of fines.

Moreover, back in 2005 Azerbaijan joined the framework convention of the WHO, according to which a set of measures is being completed to combat tobacco, within the framework of a strategy banning smoking in public places. Among the measures was an increase in duty on and prices of tobacco products, a ban on advertising, help for those who want to give up smoking and protection from passive smoking. In spite of joining the convention, not a single measure to combat smoking in public places has been introduced in our country.

Non-smokers in our society are trying not only to protect themselves from the smoke which causes them discomfort, but also from the consequences of and harm done by passive smoking. You see, most of the nicotine "dissipates" in the air together with the smoke, which cannot fail to have a harmful effect on all those who happen to be near the smoker. Passive smoking has an enormous impact on the development of children. The main argument put forward by non-smokers is the attempt to protect children from the harmful effects of smoke as well as from the bad examples which might act as an encouragement for children to try smoking in the future. Numerous broadcasts and articles on the harm done by smoking, "horrible little pictures" showing the lungs of smokers, even obtrusive inscriptions on the cigarette packets like "Smoking is harmful to health" are really just a soft touch having very little effect.

As can be seen from the experience of Western countries, even our neighbour Turkey, only the introduction of tough administrative sanctions and high fines can make any impact on the situation. The price of cigarettes is yet another substantial factor in the campaign against smoking. In Azerbaijan the price of cigarettes is considerably lower than in countries actively conducting an anti-smoking campaign. Naturally, it is not realistic to expect three million people to give up smoking just like that, and nobody claims that that should happen. Even non-smokers are fairly supportive of smokers and only demand that there should be separate premises and rooms for them in eateries, a ban on smoking around children, in cafes and restaurants frequented by families, on the transport, and in the grounds of schools and hospitals.

But what about the smokers themselves?

Naturally, some of the smokers, especially considering that most of them have already reached adulthood, do try to guard against pressure being put on them. For example, Murad Pasazada, a 29-year-old epidemiologist from Baku, asserts: "Introducing a ban on smoking most often means that smokers are having their rights encroached upon, as is the case in Europe, for example. Why should the rights of some (non-smokers) need to be protected while the rights of others don't? In my view, the most optimal solution would be to make "smoking" and "non-smoking" areas. Let all restaurants decide for themselves whether they want to have separate areas, to allow people to smoke or not. But I think that most would allow smoking, since I, for example, just like many other smokers, hardly ever go to restaurants, where you are not allowed to smoke. And this cuts down the profits made by the establishment." Murad said that any smoker is aware of the harmful effects of smoking. If a person knows, but continues to smoke, that is his or her personal choice. Everyone makes their own choice when it comes to their life and their health, although one should of course think about the interests of the people around one and not do them any harm.

Anton Saburov, an engineer from Baku, also thinks that it is impossible to prohibit inveterate smokers from "getting their nicotine fix". To begin with, smoking areas need to be made ready, but this should not apply to open spaces. All the same, car exhaust fumes are also harmful. When everything has been made ready and checked, then restrictions can be introduced. When a smoker cannot have a cigarette and get rid of stress, he or she is far less sociable. Much more harm is done by that than if he has a quiet smoke."

Most inveterate smokers are either sorry that they ever started smoking and now they cannot do without that fatal habit, or they are completely ready for some restrictions, understanding that they are not simply causing discomfort to the people around them with their smoking and their smoke, but actually damaging the health of those people.

As you can see, there are two opposing armies, the smokers and the non-smokers, who are perfectly capable of coming to an agreement amongst themselves. The main thing is to introduce the appropriate law and monitoring by the state bodies to ensure that it is being enforced.