http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8634411.stm

Syria smoking ban enters into force


Smoking using a nargile is very popular in Arab culture
Syria has become the first Arab state to implement a ban on smoking in
public places, such as restaurants and cafes.
The decree also outlaws smoking in educational institutions, health
centres, sports halls, cinemas and theatres and on public transport.
Workers must not smoke during meetings and businesses need to provide
well-ventilated areas for smokers.
The restrictions include the nargile, or hubble-bubble pipe, which is
popular among locals and tourists.
The decree was signed last November by President Bashar al-Assad, a
qualified medical doctor.
According to the official news agency SANA, fines for violating the
ban range from 500 to 100,000 Syrian pounds (US$11 to $2,169).
Businesses hit
The BBC's Lina Sinjab in Damascus says the ban has upset many in a
country heavily addicted to nicotine.
In one of the city's traditional cafes, Cafe Rawda, on the first day
of the new rules, the inside area was deserted but the outdoor terrace
was busy with customers smoking shisha pipes, she reports.

Indoor rooms in some Damascus cafes were virtually deserted
Cafe owner Ismat Kosoros said he feared the ban would take a heavy
toll on business.
"There are customers who have been coming here for forty years. And in
hot summers, it is hard to have people sitting in courtyard, they need
an air-conditioned area," he said.
But there are members of the younger generation who welcome the
decision as good for public health - even if they still smoke
themselves - our correspondent reports.
The Syrian government has passed several laws restricting smoking in
the last two decades.
A decree in 1996 banned tobacco advertising while a 2006 law outlawed
smoking on public transport and in some public places, introducing
fines for offenders. Under-18s are not allowed to buy tobacco.
The World Health Organization is unable to provide details on tobacco
consumption in Syria, but levels of smoking in public is high across
the Arab world, especially among men.
Last year Iraq's cabinet agreed a draft law outlining similar
measures, causing uproar amongst smokers.