Health Minister Richard Raši said on February 17 that it was unacceptable for health service employees to smoke on duty.
“If they're smokers, they should smoke before or after work, but not in the health-care facility,” Raši said after an amendment to the Non-smokers Protection Act, which bans smoking in health-care facilities, was approved by Parliament on Tuesday, the TASR newswire wrote.
“You can't talk about smoking, an unhealthy lifestyle, and about obesity when you're an obese smoker yourself,” Raši remarked when asked whether the ban on smoking in health-care facilities is realistic, since staff forced to leave such facilities as a result could be essential.
The Non-smokers Protection Act, which requires that facilities which prepare and serve food build a solid wall dividing smokers from non-smokers, also bans smoking in administrative buildings, including parts that are not freely accessible to the public. The ban will affect theatres, cinemas, shops, museums and exhibitions, as well as health-care facilities and wellness centres. TASR
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
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