Last year, the Bulgarian Parliament made amendments to the Law on Public Health introducing a ban on smoking in public places to come into force on June 1, 2010. This happened after heated discussions because the number of smokers in Bulgaria is high – about 2 million people. Cigarette smoke, however, subjects the rest of Bulgarians to passive smoking, which is even more harmful to health than active smoking as medicine says. The dispute between smokers and non-smokers still continues despite the legal ban on smoking.

In most European countries, the ban on smoking in public places is already a fact. The ban was first introduced in Ireland. As to Bulgaria’s neighboring countries, in Greece for example the ban came into force in the middle of last year. According to figures of the European Commission, about 20 thousand Greeks die every year from smoking-related diseases. With the amendments to the Public Health Law approved by the Bulgarian Parliament, from June 1 this year smoking will be forbidden in restaurants, bars, disco clubs, administrative buildings, etc. Smokers will virtually be allowed to light a cigarette only at home and in the street. The aim of legislative amendments is to protect non-smokers by providing a smoke-free environment. After June 1, offenders of this law in Bulgaria will be imposed a fine of 50 to 100 leva (50 euro), and in the event of second offence the fine will be between 100 and 300 leva (150 euro). The first partial ban on smoking is currently active in Bulgaria. Smoking is not allowed in indoor public places such as schools, universities, work offices, Internet clubs, etc. In restaurants and bars, special zones for smokers and non-smokers have been made, which is a rather relative division. Bulgaria holds one of the leading positions in Europe with its high number of smokers, i.e. almost 2 million people. Doctor Sofia Angelova is senior assistant in “Saint Sofia” Specialized Hospital for Active Treatment of Pulmonary Diseases in Sofia. Here is what she says on the dangers of smoking:

“According to estimates of the World Health Organization, the quantity of harmful substances in secondary smoke, i.e. the smoke from the burning butt of the cigarette and the smoke that the smoker exhales, is much higher than in primary smoke. So, if a non-smoker works with a smoker for 8 hours a day, he will inhale toxic substances that are equal to 5 smoked cigarettes. So, this person really turns into an active smoker against his or her will. This is where the law must intervene. I have traveled to Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, and I am impressed that smoking is not allowed in the public eating establishments there. People go outside, smoke a cigarette and go back in. Just imagine the disco clubs in Bulgaria where mostly young people go and dance a lot. It is well known that during active physical exercise breathing grows deeper. And when the disco club is filled with cigarette smoke, simply imagine what happens to the lungs of young people who do not smoke. Unfortunately, there are many children whose parents are smokers. These figures are very alarming to us, specialists in lung diseases, because it turns out that almost 50% of children aged 15 or 16 are already smoking, and the majority of them are girls who are going to become mothers one day. So, I really hope that this law will be applied in Bulgaria to its full extent.”

Doctor Sofia Angelova also says that the figures are scaring not only in Saint Sofia Hospital but also in all pulmonary units across the country. She describes the situation as follows:

“Almost 90-95 % of our patients are smokers. From the remaining 5 or 10 percent, two thirds are passive smokers. The number of lung disease patients who do not smoke and are not exposed to smoke is really small. This is the most accurate statistics; it coincides more or less with world figures. First, 90 percent of people suffering from lung cancer are smokers. And it is cigarettes that destroy the local protective mechanisms of the lungs. They enable toxic substances from the environment to penetrate the lungs of smokers. These substances cause inflammation of the bronchial lining, make it thicker, and thus gradually the amount of air that the smoker inhales is reduced. The lungs grow older just as every other organ in the human body. But the lungs of smokers grow older much faster. That is the reason why they develop lung emphysema much earlier. This is an irreversible condition in which patients breathe like fish out of the water. For this reason, I want to appeal to all smokers and make them think earlier on the damage smoking causes to their lungs. I want to attract the attention especially of young people and of non-smokers and tell them not to start smoking. It is an addiction that is very hard to get rid of and its consequences are very serious. The latest report of the United States Health Department reveals that smoking severely damages not only the lungs but each and every organ in the body. Malicious tumours, heart disease, cerebrovascular disease and pulmonary disease – these are the four groups of conditions that smoking may trigger.”

Bulgarian restaurant and hotel owners think that the coming into force of the ban on smoking on June 1 will reduce their number of visitors and will seriously affect their businesses. Doctor Sofia Angelova says that the experience of other European countries in this respect reveals an opposite tendency, as in Ireland and France for example. There has also been a considerable drop in the number of lung and heart disease among bartenders and other restaurant and bar personnel.

Translated by: Rossitsa Petcova