São Paulo State, under the leadership of Governor José Serra, former Ministry of Health, has passed today on its Assembly a total ban on smoking indoors, including bars, restaurants and hotels. No smoking designated areas, no special ventilations, no ammendments to dilute the law despite a huge opposition of the Hospitality industry supported by some newspapers. Bars, Hotels and Restaurants Associations were crowding the Assembly galeries claiming about jobs and profits losses if the law wa approved. This is a huge victory taking into account the importance, role model and dimension of São Paulo state - 40 million inhabitants, probably one major population in the world that is about to be protected by a smoke-free law. We are all overjoyed with this accomplishment where both the São Paulo state government and the civil society n amely the Brazil Tobacco Control Alliance - ACTBR, a broad coalition of several organizations, had a crucial role. Ammendments to the law where also approved and demand mandatory educational campaigns, mandatory access to smoking cessation treatment and exempt tobacco stores and religious cerimonies from the smoke -free law. This is the most restrictive smoke-free law in the country with tough fines and will surely influence other similar laws in states and municipalities and influence a federal project of law under discussion in Brazil's congress that also proposes bans of smoking designated areas. The law goes now for sanction by the Governor, a major tobacco control ally.
Best wishes,
Vera Luiza da Costa e Silva, MD PhD
WHO consultant
Here is the link with the news in the Official São Paulo state website in Portuguese, with reference to the WHO FCTC provisions:
Here is the link of a major newspaper in São Paulo
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