Owners and heads of establishments in downtown Athens welcome the first day of September in the mood of optimism. The law for the ban on smoking in public places is already in force, but the mood of the cafes staff is surprisingly cheerful. This proves that people need a belief that rules the state determines are observed. By all people.
The streets of Athens are busy in the first day of the month. Summer is over and the capital residents are back home. Cafes are full, but this is not the point now. The difference from other days is that almost all tables and chairs are placed outside. Together with them is the cigarette smoke, which one can not help but feel. It is so thick in places that it forms a sort of invisible wall. One can understand how many are the smokers in the city by looking at the many people that have chosen the tables in front of the cafes instead of the air conditioner inside...
How the restaurants’staff considers the first day of the smoking ban? Evgenios, the boss of the Centrale Cafeteria on Mitropoleos Street, is optimistic. He believes that the introduction of the law is logical and values it positively. He has accepted the state’s solution and there is no trace of discontent or rebellion in his replies. Evgenios stresses that there are many smokers in the country. According to him, additional Greek feature is that drinking coffee is most commonly associated with smoking a cigarette ... What will he do from now on to keep his customers? Evgenios doesn’t seem to bother. He answered calmly that the club has room for everyone. There are tables for smokers outside and for non-smokers inside (which are empty ...). He has considered winter too. He will warm smoking customers with gas heaters on the street. For the law itself he states that: “If all the people observe it, this ban would hardly have much negative impact on our business. If, however, some people break loose from the restrictions there certainly will be consequences. People will choose those who make them a favour and the establishments that comply with the law will be at a loss.”
Levteris, head of the cafeteria Piazza Duomo, told us that there is no low spirits in cafes around the city on September 1. Piazza Duomo is also full of people who, despite the high temperatures, preferred to sit ... outside and...light a cigarette. Lefteris said: “The introduction of this law is certainly logical. The truth is that many people really smoke in our country. The number of smokers abroad is much lower. The introduction of the ban will not harm our business, provided that the law is really observed. Things really make sense then.” Levteris is also determined not to let smokers to freeze on the street in winter. “I'll heat the place with gas stoves,” he said with a smile.
The only thing left for us is to wait and see whether the law will be respected by all and whether the really surprising optimistic forecasts of heads of establishments will come true. Another alternative is the Greeks to quit smoking. It would be nice to make this no matter how real it seems. The percentage of smokers here is one of the highest in the world, 40%. 49.9% of them are men and 30.8% are women. 4 out of 10 smokers smoke more than 20 cigarettes a day, which places Greece on one of the first places in the world again. The fact that the percentage of young smokers is relatively high is particularly alarming. 44.3% of the 18-34 aged smoke every day. The rate among high-school students is 24.6%. 2 out of every 3 smokers wish to quit smoking, but those who have succeeded are far less...
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