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Employers have the right to reject smokers
European employers now can reject employment of smokers. Euro-commissioner Vladimir Spidla, that administers social affairs, believes that this does not break the existing antidiscriminatory law.
Spidla explained his position in a letter that he addressed to British deputy of European parliament Catherine Stihler. This case shows that the antismoking lobby in Europe increases its influence. In some countries, for instance, in Italy or Ireland, smoking in restaurants is forbidden. Even Germany that has always been a paradise for smokers prepares a more concrete program in favour of non-smoking people.
By the will of FRG government, the new non-smoker protection act will prohibit smoking in public places beginning January 1, 2007. Some federal states insist on prohibition of tobacco vending machines to prevent access of people under age.
“Smokers should not bother”
Spidla’s letter was an answer to the interpellation of deputy Stihler from Labourites, where she expressed her anxiety concerning an advertisement about Irish call-centre Dotcom Directories hiring, where it was said “Smokers should not bother”.
In last six years European Union issued a broad range of antidiscriminatory directives. “Antidiscrimination legislation of European Union forbids discrimination in profession or other spheres because of ethnicity or origin, invalidity, age, sexual orientation, religion or faith”, - Spidla writes. “The advertisement, where it is said that smokers should not bother, does not match any of the mentioned unlawful reasons for discrimination”, - the commissioner points out in the document that was drawn up in cooperation with lawyers. The letter does not tell whether dismissal is legal based on employee’s smoking.
EU is anxious about bureaucratization
Argues about legislative control aimed to protect non-smokers take place in Germany. In EU worries concerning further bureaucratization are being more and more expressed. Speaker of parliamentary group Christian Democratic Party Laurenz Meyer warned about turnover decrease in the sphere of catering, whether the government decides to extend prohibition of smoking in restaurants. “I don’t think highly of hard forms of problem solving”, - Meyer declared in the interview to FTD. A politician from Christian Democratic Party pointed out that tobacco industry invested millions in vending machines production. “Challenging these investments would be a fatal error.”
Most smoking countries
In EU smokers are treated rather harsh, while in the other world the attitude is more loyal. The biggest amount of smokers lives in Mongolia, where 67.8% of adults smoke. The Top five of countries-smokers also includes China (66.9%), Kenya (66.8%), Cambodia (66%) and Namibia (65%), as “Washington Profile” reports referring to World Health Organization.
Talking about countries of the former USSR, Armenia is on the 6th place (64%), Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan shared the 13th and 14th places (60%), Belarus takes the 23rd place (54.9%), the Ukraine and Lithuania are on the 30th and 31st places (51.1%), Latvia and Uzbekistan are on the 35th and 37th (60%). Estonia is on the 47th (44%), Azerbaijan is on the 85th place (32%) and Turkmenistan takes the 95th place (27%).
As for the amount of cigarettes smoked a day, the first in the rating are Greeks – they smoke approximately 8,6 cigarettes a day. First five countries are also Bulgaria (7,7), Japan (6,8), Bosnia (6,4) and Slovenia (6,2). Russia and Lithuania shared the 8th place (5,8 cigarettes a day). The Ukraine is on the 16th place (5,1).
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