Radio România Internațional

Tag: smoking ban

  • The Effects of the Smoking Ban

    The Effects of the Smoking Ban


    Within six months of the introduction of the smoking ban, almost 2,000 adults and 700 children were no longer in need of hospitalisation because of a worsening of disorders caused or aggravated by smoking. Also, fewer people were admitted into hospital for acute respiratory and cardiac infections. One year since the introduction of the smoking ban, the revenues of bars and restaurants have gone up because non-smokers have also started going out more often, even with their children. These are some of the conclusions of a report on the impact of the smoking ban on the population presented on Wednesday before the Chamber of Deputies committee on health and family.



    The ban is also supported by a large section of the population, doctor Florin Mihaltan told Radio Romania:


    “Public support has also increased, with 80-85% of Romanians accepting and supporting the smoking ban. 67% of smokers themselves accept and support the ban because they are aware of the effects of passive smoking. The law tries to eliminate these negative effects and protect passive smokers.”



    According to official statistics, in Romania, smoking is responsible for more than 42,000 deaths every year. At a global level, the World Health Organisation says smoking is responsible for the death of 6 million people and is a heavy burden on world economy. It is estimated that smoking costs the world economy 1 trillion dollars annually in healthcare expenditures and lost productivity.



    However, according to a report by the World Health Organisation, the international treaty adopted in 2005, namely the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, has contributed to a decrease in smoking by 2.5% in ten years. The 180 countries that signed the treaty, including Romania, pledged, among other things, to increase taxes associated with tobacco, to ban smoking in some public spaces and apply warning labels on packages. However, the use of tobacco products with potential lethal effects could be reduced even further by adopting more policies to combat smoking, the World Health Organisation report also reads.


    (Translated by Cristina Mateescu)



  • 16 March, 2016

    16 March, 2016

    Romania’s former
    sovereign King Mihai I was discharged on Tuesday from a hospital in Lausanne,
    Switzerland, where he underwent cancer surgery. According to a royal family
    release, he is now at his private residence in Switzerland, where he will
    remain under medical supervision. The release also says the King’s general
    condition is stable, but his recovery will be slow, given the gravity of his
    diagnosis. Earlier this month, the royal family announced the King would
    withdraw from public life because of health reasons, while his public duties
    were handed over to his oldest daughter, Princess Margareta.




    A smoking ban comes into effect in Romania
    on Thursday. Smoking will be prohibited in all enclosed public spaces,
    including spaces with a roof and two walls. Smoking will still be permitted in
    maximum-security prisons and in enclosed environments in the transit areas of
    international airports. Smoking is banned in workplaces and all children
    playground areas, both outdoor and indoor. Electronic cigarettes will be
    allowed, with the exception of public transport. Penalties for breaking the
    smoking ban include fines and even the closing down of the venues in question.
    Smoking is one of the most expensive habits. Last year alone, the state cashed
    in 2.7 billion euros from taxes and duties on cigarette trade.




    Romania’s top ten exporters account hold a 17% share in
    total exports, accounting for almost 10 billion euros, according to a report by
    the National Institute for Statistics commissioned by the Ziarul Financial
    newspaper. Romania’s biggest exports come from the car industry. The top 500
    exporters cover 74% of Romania’s exports, which amounted to almost 55 billion
    euros in 2015. Last year, only six out of the 500 companies retained their
    positions, while 68 companies entered the top 500.




    Razvan
    Murgeanu, a businessman and former state advisor while Traian Basescu was
    president of Romania, has been detained by anticorruption prosecutors for 24
    hours. He is suspected of influence peddling, bribe giving and incitement to
    money laundering. Two other persons have also been detained as part of the same
    case. Murgeanu also served as deputy mayor of Bucharest and a state secretary
    in the ministry for regional development and tourism.




    Police
    raids continued on Tuesday in Brussels after three Belgian and one French
    police officers were slightly wounded in an operation carried out on Monday. A
    suspect armed with a Kalashnikov was killed. Two more suspects are on the run.
    The operation was linked to last November’s terrorist attacks in Paris in which
    130 people were killed. Salah Abdeslam, the most wanted man in connection with these attacks,
    has not been located. 11 persons have so far been charged in Belgium in
    connection with November’s attacks, which are believed to have been planned and
    coordinated from Brussels.




    Republican and Democratic front-runners
    Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, respectively, have extended their leads in
    the race for presidential nomination with wins in Tuesday’s primaries. Donald
    Trump won in North Carolina, Illinois and Florida, while Hilllary Clinton won
    in four states, including the industry-rich Ohio.




    966 people were put to death in Iran in
    2015, the highest number in the last 20 years, according to a United Nations report.
    Between 2005 and 2015, Iran carried out at least 73 executions of child
    offenders, including 16 in the last two years. 160 young Iranians are currently
    awaiting execution. Also, 47 journalists and bloggers are known to be
    imprisoned in Iran.




    Romania’s number one tennis player Simona Halep has
    reached the quartefinals of the Indian Wells tournament worth 6 million dollars
    in prize money. The winner of last year’s title in Indian Wells, Halep is
    currently in the fifth place in the world rankings. In her next match, she
    faces world number one Serena Williams, who leads 6-1 in head-to-head clashes.
    Halep’s only win against Williams dates back to 2014 at the WTA Finals in
    Singapore.

    Radio Romania’s Charming Flute project featuring flautist Ion Bogdan Stefanescu and pianist Horia
    Mihail travels to the United States. The performances are scheduled for March
    18, 6.30 pm, at the Romanian Embassy in Washington, DC and for March 20, 12 pm, at
    the Victor Borge Hall – Scandinavia House in New York (58 Park Ave.). The
    all-Romanian programme includes works by Anton Pann, George Enescu, Tudor
    Ciortea, Paul Constantinescu, Petre Elinescu, Ciprian Porumbescu, Vasile Jianu,
    Ioan Dobrinescu and Tiberiu Brediceanu.

    (Translated by: C. Mateescu)

  • January 27, 2016

    January 27, 2016

    JUSTICE –The European Commission has today underlined, in the assessing report under the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism, that Romania has made progress in the judicial reform. The European Commission has words of appreciation for the institutions that fight against corruption, such as the National Anti-Corruption Directorate, and is critical of Parliament for putting brakes on the fight against corruption. The legislature is also being criticized for having issued negative opinions to requests coming from the judiciary, without however motivating them. Also, the report draws attention to the nominations that are being made at the top of the judicial system, which should be made based on a transparent procedure, to consolidate the independence of the judiciary. The Vice-President of the European Commission, Frans Timmermans, said it was encouraging to see that Romania further made reforms in 2015 and underlined that efforts should be intensified, with special emphasis on the prevention of corruption and ensuring the necessary conditions for judges to accomplish their mission appropriately. The Cooperation and Verification Mechanism is a process assessing the progress made by Romania in the judicial reform, and the fight against corruption and organised crime. It will further be active in 2016.



    TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL – Romania ranks 58th in Transparency Internationals 2015 Corruption Perceptions Index. With 46 points, as compared to an average of 65.36 at EU level, Romania is among the EU member states with the lowest number of points, alongside Bulgaria, Greece and Italy. Ranking first, for the fourth year in a row, is Denmark, the country with the lowest perceived level of corruption the world over. North Korea and Somalia are at the bottom of the classification, with only 8 points. The points accumulated by a country/ territory show the perceived level of corruption on a scale from zero (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean). 168 countries have been included in Transparency Internationals 2015 Corruption Perceptions Index.



    CORRUPTION – The leadership of the Romanian Senate is today discussing the National Anti-Corruption Directorates request to start prosecution against former Deputy Prime Minister and interior minister Gabriel Oprea. He faces two charges of abuse in office and of gaining undue benefits for himself or another person during his term in office. He has reportedly used human and material resources of the Romanian Interior Ministry to illegally benefit from police escort and motorcade while holding the internal affairs portfolio.



    BAN ON SMOKING– The law banning smoking in public places in Romania observes the countrys Constitution, Romanias Constitution Court has today ruled. Thus, the court has rejected the notification on this issue submitted by several Senators from all political parties. Adopted in December, in a plenary session of the Chamber of Deputies, the law bans smoking in enclosed public places, be they at the workplace, playgrounds, healthcare units, education institutions, as well as child protection and welfare centres. At present 17 of the 28 EU member states impose a total ban on smoking in enclosed public places, on means of transportation and at the workplace.



    HEALTHCARE – Romania is affected by obsolete medical assistance structures, the European Medical Systems Index shows. Last year, Romania went up three positions and is now on the 32nd place, with only 527 out of a total of 1,000 points. In one of the most important categories, “treatment result, Romania ranked at the bottom of the classification, alongside Macedonia. Bucharest also got a low number of points for other chapters such as infantile mortality rate, abortion rate and cancer survival rate. The report, drafted by a Swedish company also shows that Romania, just like Albania and Bulgaria, have a high and costly hospitalisation rate.



    TENNIS-The pair made up of Romanian tennis player Horia Tecau and the American Coco Vandeweghe has qualified to mixed doubles semi-finals of the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam tournament of the year, after defeating the Americans Bob Bryan/ Bethanie Mattek-Sands, seeded 2nd in the competition. The Romanian-American pair will meet in the semi-finals the pair Andreja Klepac (Slovenia)/Treat Huey (the Philippines). In another move, the Czech Republic has announced that Petra Kvitova, WTAs no. 7 and best Czech tennis player will be the leader of the tennis team which will meet Romania in the first round of the Fed Cups World Group. The match is due in the Romanian western city of Cluj Napoca. Romania will not benefit from the expertise of its best player, Simona Halep, WTAs no.2, who is to have an operation on her nose.


    (Translated by Diana Vijeu)

  • Smoking Bans and the Romanians’ Lifestyle

    Smoking Bans and the Romanians’ Lifestyle

    The Chamber of
    Deputies in Bucharest has passed the law banning smoking in closed public
    areas. 164 deputies endorsed the new law, 20 were against it while 26 refrained
    from voting. The Senate had passed the law as early as 2011, but the
    decision-making body in this matter was the Chamber of Deputies. The law
    completely bans smoking in all closed public areas, in offices and other
    working facilities, in hospitals, clinics and schools, in buses and other
    transportation means as well in outdoor and indoor playing grounds. Any
    violation of the law is punishable with fines between 20 and 110 euros, while
    companies could be subject to fines of up to 3400 euros, have their activity
    suspended or be closed down.

    Smoking bans in public spaces have been in force
    in many Western countries for many years now. Although Romanian employers are
    afraid of losing customers, the experience of other countries has proven that
    people have continued to go to pubs and cafes after the law was enforced.
    Furthermore a smoking ban in clubs will allow for the installation of smoke
    detectors, which could prove instrumental with regard to fire prevention. The
    law banning smoking in closed public areas will be submitted to president
    Iohannis for promulgation, then it will be published in the Official Gazette
    and should come into effect within 45 days, most likely in February next year.

    Statistically speaking, Romania was in need of such a law, because, as data
    released by the National Institute of Statistics shows, one in five Romanians
    is into daily smoking. The research indicates that close to 10% of the population
    suffers from obesity and half of the Romanians sees the family doctor or the GP
    at least once a year. Worth noting is that only three out of ten Romanians are
    in the habit of eating fresh fruit and vegetables on a daily basis and only 9%
    of those above 6 years are exercising weekly.

    More than half of the
    interviewees over 16 have admitted to having drunk alcohol in the past year
    while only two in ten Romanians say they don’t drink alcohol at the weekends.
    One in four people is suffering from at least a chronic disease or has
    experienced long-term health issues. Only 16 in 100 people have gone to the
    dentist in the past year. According to the National Institute for Statistics,
    15% of the interviewees have used medicine without having a prescription, particularly
    for headaches and cold. The same survey shows that over three quarters of the
    population believe they are in good and in very good health.





  • 16 December, 2015

    16 December, 2015

    A strong Romania is more than an aspiration, it
    is a national project we are already building, the Romanian president Klaus
    Iohannis told Parliament today, one year after taking office. He said 2015 has
    shown that a wide consensus on public issues could be achieved, citing the 2016
    budget and the political agreement on boosting defence spending to 2% of the
    GDP by 2017. The country’s new defence strategy, which for the first time
    included aspects related to education, healthcare, the preservation of national
    identity and the protection of the country’s heritage also enjoyed a large
    majority. Speaking about Romania’s foreign policy, Iohannis said its priorities
    in 2015 were the consolidation of the partnership with the US and of the
    strategic alliances with France, Poland, Germany, Spain, Britain and Turkey, as
    well strengthening ties with neighbouring states such as Ukraine, Serbia and
    Bulgaria. A privileged relationship with the majority Romanian-speaking
    Republic of Moldova has been and will remain a constant feature of Romania’s
    foreign policy, Klaus Iohannis also told Parliament.




    The
    two houses of Romania’s Parliament today passed the state budget for 2016 with
    309 yes and 13 no votes. Parliament finalised debates on next year’s budget on
    Tuesday without making any significant amendments to the version proposed by
    the government. Education, healthcare and research will generally be allocated
    more money. Government spending on state pensions will amount to more than 10
    billion euros, which accounts for almost 7% of the GDP. 4.7 pensioners will
    benefit from a pension increase as of January 1st.




    An
    anti-communist uprising that led to the toppling of dictator Nicolae Ceausescu
    began on December 16th, 1989 in the western city of Timisoara. To
    commemorate the people who died 26 years ago, associations of revolutionaries
    and local authorities are holding a series of events and ceremonies. The
    protests in Timisoara quickly spread across the country, leading to the ousting
    of Nicolae Ceausescu on December 22nd. More than 1,000 people died
    and around 3,400 were wounded between 16th and 25th
    December 1989. Romania was the only country in the former eastern bloc where
    regime change was accompanied by bloodshed and where the deposed communist
    leaders were executed.




    The
    Romanian government today issued an emergency order to suspend the application
    of several articles of the hunting law. The decision follows yesterday’s angry protests
    by thousands of shepherds over provisions of the law that ban grazing from
    December to April and restrict the number of sheepdogs that can guard the
    sheep.




    Romanian
    deputies on Tuesday passed a bill banning smoking in all enclosed public
    spaces. Smoking will be permitted, however, in certain designated rooms
    equipped with fire extinguishers and ventilation systems. Harsh penalties are
    stipulated for infringements of the law. Apart from financial penalties,
    companies also face suspension and even closure. The smoke-free bill will be
    sent to the president to be signed into law and will be enforced within 45 days
    of publication in the Official Gazette, most likely in February next year.




    Romania face host country Denmark today in the
    quarterfinals of the Women’s World Handball Championship. They need to finish
    the tournament in the top seven to qualify for the Olympic test events in Rio
    in 2016. Romania are the only country to have taken part in every edition of
    the World Championship since 1957, winning three medals in the process: gold in
    1962 and silver in 1973 and again in 2005.

    (Translated by: C. Mateescu)