Los Angeles Times
From Associated Press
December 22 2002

ROME -- Smoking will get a little harder next year in Italy, where cigarettes are as common an accessory as a Vespa motorbike or a Fendi handbag.

The Senate passed a bill Saturday banning smoking in most public places. The law takes effect in a year.

The bill, already approved this month by the lower Chamber of Deputies, requires bar and restaurant owners to create separate smoking areas.

Owners failing to enforce the law face up to $2,000 in fines. Individuals who light up face fines of $25 to $250; the amount can double if they smoke near a pregnant woman or child younger than 12.

Smoking is banned in some restaurants, offices and public places, but Italians frequently light up in no-smoking areas.

About 12 million Italians -- or 20% of the population -- smoke, and Health Minister Gerolamo Sirchia has campaigned to get them to quit. He recommended forming a "Vigilance Committee" to keep smoking from being glamorized on TV.

Smoking Ban Expands in Italy 
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-smoke22dec22.story