Smoking Law Not Applying

The director of the Sanitarian Inspectorate at the Food and Veterinary Agency, Ibrahim Trsnjak for Kosovo Press, says the last few days have been declining in the sustainability of this law. However, inspections are continuing and those who do not respect the Law on Tobacco Control will be fined.

The last “Days have a fall or violation of the law, especially through cafe-bare. While in restaurants we have better and positive results, in institutions that we implement the law we have good results... True, smoking is one of the biggest problems in a country, as we are in Kosovo. But recently we are seeing that we have no positive developments in understanding the education of aggressive campaigns, in the positive sense of addressing specific generations and categories that are consuming tobacco”, Trschnjak says.

Only at the beginning of the year, Trsnjak says 30 fines have been imposed on the central level.

We first pronounced 30 fines on the central level this year, and for the municipal level, we have no implementation in certain municipalities. Given that there are no municipal inspectors, especially in the Pristina municipality, we have problems at the helm about organising the Inspectorate, which are located as municipal inspectors. And who do not respect the law on the Sanitarian Inspectorate and the Tobacco Control Law... At the moment we have started the action in these days and we expect that at the end of the month all of these will be calculated, from the central level there are 30 fines”, he says.

Among other things, the director of the Kosovo Sanitary Inspectorate, says this law is being viewed with ignorance by the heads of institutions themselves. According to Trshnjak, the major violations of this law are taking place during the winter season.

That this law is not finding implementation is being highlighted in the “Report to Kosovo” by the European Commission.

The comprehensive tobacco control law has yet to be implemented due to the lack of political will and poor performance of implementing authorities”, says the 2019 report.

And the media official in Kosovo Customs, the Adriatic Stavileci, tells of Kosova Preris, of how much our tobacco is imported during the year.

Kosovo's import of tobacco currently stands at between 2,500 and 2300 tonnes in a year. And that value is not only this year, but in the last 10 years. Realising even major tobacco companies determine that Kosovo's tobacco market level should not exceed about 3 thousand tonnes within the year... unfortunately Kosovo smokes 200m to 250m euros”, Stavileci claims.

Milazim Sfishta, who has come from Germany for vacation in Kosovo, says that almost all locals in the capital are being violated by the tobacco law.

I've come to visit here. Absolutely, I'm looking for a place to drink. I found one there, and that's where I went. I don't think it's respected at all”, Sfisha declares.

Hamdi Gashi, who lives in Pristina, likewise thinks. According to him, the institutions themselves are to blame for this.

It doesn't respect at all, I've noticed that, maybe even institutions that have made it and don't, do not control it. Winter locals are also waiting for entrances, which are ready for smoking in each restaurant. No respect at all”, Gashi declares.

For this, Basri Hoxha, also Pristina resident is demanding that this law be implemented.

There are institutions on the charges. The failure to function institutions is the result of any social scandal. The law, the law, and only the law must rule. Through the rule of law, every process in a society functions only in the best and most efficient way”, he says.

According to World Health Organisation statistics, over two thousand people die each year in Kosovo from tobacco. The Tobacco Control Law was adopted in 2013. This law sets out measures to prevent, limit the use of tobacco, and tobacco products. No smoking 100 percent in public spaces, work spaces, public transportation, and in some open spaces defined by this law.

About 250m euros in tobacco, Kosovars smoke annually. Kosovo's tobacco import is worth between 2,500 and 2300 tonnes in a year.

Otherwise, Kosova Prees has tried to get images at some of the tobacco-consuming establishments, but that is not allowed by local owners.