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Tough Anti-smoking Measures Split Croatia
"I am aware that cigarettes are not good for health and can bother others, but this is my luxury, a moment of relaxation," said Zeljko, a 40-year-old male nurse, sitting outside a Zagreb cafe.
"In the Balkans, it is also a question of mentality," he boasted, brandishing a coffee in one hand and a cigarette in the other.
The World Health Organization backs this up. Thirty to 40 percent of all adults in the Balkans are inveterate smokers, its figures show, hooked on a habit the WHO -- which marks "World No Tobacco Day" on Sunday -- considers a major cause of premature death.
But owners of Croatian drinking holes fear the new ban on public smoking has come at the worst possible time for their businesses, with the country already grappling with the global financial crisis.
The law, which bans smoking inside all public places including bars and restaurants, went into effect in May.
It echoes standards adopted by the European Union which Croatia hopes to join by 2011.
Cafes, bars and nightclubs are expected to be the worst affected, said Zlatko Puntijar, head of the national association gathering around 16,000 owners in the industry who employ some 100,000 people.
"The drop in business figures will maybe not be so important for the time being, but in autumn it will certainly be enormous.
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