Deputy Prime Minister and Health Minister Darko Milinovic on Friday expressed satisfaction with the fact that a smoking ban in indoor public places, including restaurants and bars, would go into force as of midnight.
With the enforcement of the relevant legislation, smoking will be allowed only in restaurants and bars that have made necessary adjustments and have received permission for smoking areas.
"We will stick to it. So far we have twice approved transitional periods, and I am happy that the smoking ban is going into force as of midnight," the minister said before a government meeting in Zagreb on Friday.
He warned that 95 per cent of children were exposed to passive smoking.
"Every second smoker is diagnosed with malign diseases, and fifty per cent of them die before 50 years of age from smoking-related consequences. Every day 25 to 27 Croatians die from tobacco-related diseases," the minister said.
"The law has not been adopted to punish restaurant owners but to encourage people to quit smoking," he said.
