To Smoke or Not to Smoke

For some, smoking a cigarette after a meal in a restaurant, or with an point of beer in a pub, is an integral part of their outing. For others, to sit in a room of damaging second-hand smoke is just another reason to stay at home. And just like so many cities across the globe, Prague is currently in the midst of its own battle against smoking.

The most recent development has been the creation of a law that requires restaurants and bars to post a sticker on the exterior of their establishment informing customers of their status on smoking. Is the venue smoke-free? Is there a separate section for non-smokers?

It may seem like a small step but many are noticing a growth in interest in banning smoke from public places. While typical bars and pubs are generally smoker-friendly, high-end restaurants such as V Zatisi have long been smoke-free areas. In fact the Czech Coalition Against Tobacco has reported that its number of registrants on its website has doubled in the last year. In Prague alone, there are 149 venues registered as non-smoking.

And while a full smoking ban is unlikely to happen any time soon, it seems that Prague is finally paying a little more attention to the issue of public smoking.