ITALY: Owners of bars and restaurants in Italy - a country where breaking the rules is often considered a right - say that they will refuse to enforce a smoking ban due to take effect today.
The ban, which was delayed so that revellers could enjoy their last New Year celebrations in smoky bars, aims to eliminate the dangers of passive smoking and deter those who choose to pursue a habit which health officials say kills 90,000 people every year.
"Those who want to smoke can do it in the street or at home, but not right next to people who can't stand it and who cannot tolerate being poisoned," said the author of the new law, Health Minister Girolamo Sirchia. "The majority of the population is tired of being poisoned by the smoke in the air where they work or where they play . . . the majority, three-quarters of Italians, is with us."
Although smokers are in the minority - 18 million out of a total population of 58 million - many Italians are sceptical of a prohibition they feel smacks of American or northern European puritanism.
Ireland became the first country in the world to introduce a smoking ban in March 2004, but a number of US states, including Maine, Florida and California and the cities of New York and Boston, have had similar bans since 2003.
The Italian law relies on bar and restaurant owners - the vast majority of whom have not built closed-off smoking areas - to ensure that their customers do not smoke, with the threat of a fine of up to €2,000.
But the owners have said that they will refuse to be the state's sheriffs and will not call the police if their customers light up.
"Well, first of all, we aren't going to make any reports to the authorities. The law is a just one, but it has been introduced too quickly," Rome bar owner Paolo Rosetti said.