Bulgarian Parliamentary Committee to Vote on Smoking Ban Amendments

Bulgaria's Parliamentary Economic Committee will vote Tuesday at a closed-doors session on the abolition of the full indoor smoking ban.
The proposal was put forth by MPs from center-right ruling party GERB between the first and second reading of the new Tourism Act, dnevnik.bg reminds.
At the end of last week, GERB MPs Ivan Bozhilov and Evgeni Stoev suggested that the Tourism Act should be amended to permit smoking in night clubs and in bars and restaurants with separate rooms for smokers and non-smokers.
The two GERB MPs also suggested that small bars and restaurants with an area of up to 50 square meters should be allowed to decide whether the site is for smokers or non-smokers.
The vote was postponed for December 18 to get MPs acquainted with the stances of the Health Ministry and the Ministry of Economy, Energy, and Tourism.
Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov declared Saturday that GERB was totally against the abolition of the full indoor smoking ban despite the fact that he had suggested one week earlier that smoking could be allowed in bars and restaurants after 10 p.m.
Borisov went so far as to declare he would file his resignation of the full smoking ban was lifted.
Despite Borisov's warning, the initiators of the legal amendments did not withdraw them.
President Rosen Plevneliev also opposed the abolition of the full indoor smoking ban and implied he could veto the amendments if they got approved by Parliament, according to Novinite.com.
Helath Minister Desislava Atanasova has repeatedly stated her opposition to the removal of the full smoking ban.
Delyan Dobrev, Minister of Economy, Energy, and Tourism, is the only Minister supporting the abolition of the full smoking ban.
Parliament Chair Tsetska Tsacheva has also rejected the amendments mainly due to the unacceptable practice of amending one law to introduce changes in another one.