Changes to the tobacco law: cigarette smoking may be allowed only for members of private clubs

An amendment to the Law on Protection from Smoking has been submitted to парламентary procedure, stipulating that cigarette consumption would be allowed only in private clubs.

Outgoing Health Minister Azir Aliu said he expects the law to be adopted within the next two weeks and to begin being implemented immediately afterward.

According to the proposal, a private club would be considered a legal entity registered in accordance with the law, using enclosed premises with restricted access, intended exclusively for registered members who join voluntarily and pay a membership fee. These spaces would not be accessible to the public.

However, the group of experts that drafted the law does not support this amendment, as it believes that limiting smoking only to private clubs would not have an effect on preventing it, especially among young people.

After the law enters into force, the use of traditional and electronic cigarettes will be banned in public institutions, companies, educational institutions, bus stations and bus stops, markets, areas with heavy pedestrian traffic, as well as in vehicles when one of the passengers is a minor child.

For violators, the prescribed fines range from 100 to 300 euros for individuals, while for companies they range from 2,000 to 5,000 euros.

The legal changes also stipulate that hospitality venues will have a one-year deadline to adapt their terraces, which must be open on at least two sides.