Recently, Italian Health Minister Orazio Schiacci announced that the latest tobacco control decree is under review and will significantly restrict the places where cigarettes and e-cigarettes(HNB tobacco heatsticks) can be used.

The report said that Italy’s current tobacco control decree was issued in 2003, the current Italian government decided to tighten the rules again.

First, the new law will not distinguish between traditional tobacco and e-cigarettes(Heated tabak), because both will emit smoke or vapor whether or not they contain tobacco, and are therefore considered cigarettes. In particular, some heating does not burn tobacco products, the smoke emitted is not much different from traditional cigarettes.

The new draft provides that there will no longer be “smoking rooms” in enclosed spaces such as Italian airports. To protect those most vulnerable to secondhand smoke, smoking will be banned in parks where there are pregnant women or children nearby. Under the current draft, smokers must be at least 2 meters away from pregnant women or children.

For outdoor tables in bars or restaurants, smoking will also be prohibited unless the bar or restaurant has sufficient outdoor space to distinguish between smoking and non-smoking areas. Similar restrictions will be adopted for subway stations, bus stops, train stations, and boat terminals.

Fines for non-compliance will continue to follow the 2003 law and can range from a maximum of 275 euros to a minimum of 27.5 euros. The exact amount depends on the circumstances of their violation of the rules.

As usual, if the fine is paid within 60 days, the amount of the fine is reduced by half. Fines will be issued in the same way as before, and the venue manager will not have the right to issue tickets, only the police will have the right to do so.

In addition, the draft tobacco decree will also be restricted to e-cigarette(Heat not burn tobacco heatsticks) advertising, e-cigarettes will be banned from advertising in the same way as tobacco, either directly or indirectly.