Cigarettes will be stubbed out once and for all in nearly all Finnish restaurants and bars at midnight when the amendment to the law on smoking in public areas comes into effect.

Only a few Helsinki restaurants have applied for a two-year transition period over smoking or for a permit to construct a designated smoking booth. In the entire country, only around 100 restaurants have applied for a transition period.

In restaurant Toscanini in downtown Helsinki, the ban does not seem to have any effect whatsoever on customers - nor on the management.

Clients Anna-Kaisa Tuomi and Marjut Ruokonen are satisfied with the amendment to the law, as all their friends are non-smokers and they always choose the smoke-free zone anyway.

"Considering the health of the restaurant workers, it is fair and just that the law was amended", Tuomi and Ruokonen conclude.

Marc Skvorc, the General Manager of Klaus K Hotel and its three restaurants, is actually in favour of the amendment to the law on smoking. He sees here another opportunity to improve business.

"In New York, a similar amendment increased business, as for example ladies were happy about not smelling of smoke any more when leaving a restaurant", noted Skvorc whose previous experience includes successful hotels with restaurants in his native country, the USA.

Even though Klaus K’s restaurants are almost entirely smokeless, the establishment has applied for a two-year transition period over smoking.

"If the permit is not granted, it will be no major problem. We will simply forbid smoking, and our customers will move to the terrace", Skvorc adds.

Lensu bar in the municipality of Lemi in Southern Karelia will turn completely smoke-free. On Friday, waitress Tuula Hyoppinen will be pleased to collect the ashtrays, take them away, and see to it that nobody lights up any more.

The majority of the bar’s loyal customers smoke on a regular basis, and they are less enthusiastic about the non-smoking policy. One of the regulars, Jari Parkkola, predicts that his visits to the bar could be less frequent after the smoking ban has come into force.

The proprietor of the bar Ossi Lensu believes that the non-smoking policy will not have a great effect on customers in the summer, as smoking will be allowed on the terrace. However, in the winter when it is freezing cold, the situation could be different.

Smoking in restaurants and bars is banned in Ireland, Norway, Sweden, New Zealand, New York City, and California, among others. On the whole, the restaurants there have been satisfied with the amendments to the law on smoking.

According to a recent questionnaire conducted by TNA Gallup and commissioned by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, a total of 77 per cent of all Finns are in favour of the smoking ban.

While regular smokers have the most negative attitude towards the ban, as many as 39 per cent of them are also in favour of a smoking ban in restaurants. Moreover, as many as 69 per cent of those who smoke only occasionally are supporters of the amendment to the law on smoking.

The majority of respondents believed that the ban would have no effect on the number of their restaurant visits, while 15 per cent regarded it as possible that the number of their visits would increase in the future. Only seven per cent of respondents thought that they would visit restaurants less frequently than before.

!!! Annonce !!! Forum Marlboro.