Smoking Ban Likely to be Ignored

A ban on smoking in public places in Kyrgyzstan is a PR exercise that will probably be widely ignored, NBCentralAsia observers say.



On January 16, the Kyrgyz parliament produced a bill that would amend the country’s Administrative Code to make smoking in public places an offence subject to fines. This means anyone caught smoking in a public place will have to pay a penalty of between 100 and 300 soms, from 2.50 to 7.50 US dollars. State officials will face higher fines of 1,000 to 2,000 soms, or up to 50 dollars.



A law banning smoking in public places such as educational and governmental institutions and public transport was passed in June last year, but no penalties have been fixed until now.



Almost all the commentators interviewed by NBCentralAsia says that despite the introduction of a penalty system, the government will encounter serious problems in making the ban work.



“It is 90 per cent impossible to enforce, not least because we have proved unable to make other, more serious laws work,” said economist Ayilchy Sarybaev.



Member of parliament Dooronbek Sadyrbayev, who describes himself as formerly “Kyrgyzstan's most dedicated smoker”, says no one is going to ensure that this law is enforced. For it to work, he says, special places where people could smoke would need to be set up, as a minimum.



Toktaim Umetalieva, head of the Association of Non-Government and Non-Commercial Organisations, made a similar point, saying, “This law creates contradictions. Before passing such laws, we must think of those who choose to smoke. We must provide special smoking rooms like they have in Europe, so that people’s rights are not violated.”



Sergei Slesarev, who heads the law firm RBS, says that fining smokers is too harsh a measure, and that before the ban is enforced, a great deal needs to be done to inform and prepare the public.



In any case, he said, banning cigarette advertisements would be a far more effective way of protecting people’s health.



(News Briefing Central Asia draws comment and analysis from a broad range of political observers across the region.)