Lithuanian Parliament Votes to Ban Smoking on Balconies

On October 1, 2020, the Lithuanian Parliament voted in favor of banning smoking on balconies of apartment buildings across the country. The new law will come into force on January 1, 2021.

From 1 January 2021, smoking on the balcony or terrace of one's private home in an apartment building will be banned in Lithuania if a resident of the building objects to it. Lithuanian parliamentarians voted in favour of the ban in a vote on 1 October 2020 [1].

"A fundamental right to be healthy," says Health Minister Aurelijus Veryga

The bill, presented by the Lithuanian Agrarian Union and the Greens – the political party leading the government coalition – was widely supported in parliament: it received 69 votes in favour, with only 4 votes against and 7 abstentions [2].

Aurelijus Veryga, the Lithuanian Minister of Health, justified the new law in these terms: "It is not only a question of unpleasant smell, but a question of public health, a fundamental right to be healthy."3]. Despite significant public anti-smoking policies in recent years that have led to a decrease in the prevalence of smoking in Lithuania, this country of 2.7 million inhabitants still deplores more than 5,000 smoking-related deaths each year, and has nearly 615,000 daily smokers, 4,000 of whom are between 10 and 14 years old [4].

An unprecedented law which raises questions about its implementation

By voting for this law, Lithuania is an exception in Europe and in the world. For example, in France, the only lever of action available to a resident inconvenienced by the cigarette smoke of another occupant of his building is to have an olfactory nuisance noted as an "abnormal neighborhood disturbance" [5].

The law adopted by the Lithuanian Parliament, however, raises many questions, particularly regarding its implementation. Indeed, the municipalities, which will be responsible for enforcing the law, consider that it will be difficult to apply real control over this ban, which concerns the private sphere. Interviewed by the Lithuanian public media LRT, a representative of the municipality of Vilnius, the country's capital, stressed that fining offenders "will be impossible, because this is a private place" [6].

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[1] Marielle Vitureau, Neighborhood. Smoking on balconies banned in Lithuania, Courrier international (October 2, 2020, accessed November 10, 2020). [2] Lauryna Vireliūnaitė, The new kit is on the bus side and is on the other side of the road – but it is built at the same time., 15 min (October 1, 2020, accessed November 10, 2020). [3] Marielle Vitureau, Neighborhood. Smoking on balconies banned in Lithuania, Courrier international (October 2, 2020, consulted on November 10, 2020). [4] Lithuania, The Tobacco Atlas (accessed November 10, 2020). [5] Neighborhood disturbances: olfactory nuisances (odors), www.service-public.fr (December 30, 2019, consulted on November 10, 2020). [6] Marielle Vitureau, Neighborhood. Smoking on balconies banned in Lithuania, Courrier international (October 2, 2020, consulted November 10, 2020). DNF - For a Zero Tobacco World |