Old habits die hard

In September last year the Lebanese government banned smoking in public places, including restaurants and bars. As the months have ticked by the ban has increasingly been ignored, with many of the country’s establishments thinking up ‘ingenious’ ways to avoid implementing it. With seemingly little political will or capability to enforce the law, is it time to declare the ban a failure? Not stubbed out When Law 174 came into force in September, there was little optimism that it would be properly enforced. The Tourism Minister Fady Abboud, one of four ministers responsible for imposing it, had publicly declared himself opposed and, with more than one-third of Lebanon’s population smokers — according to a study by the American University of Beirut — many expected the law to join hundreds of other that are technically on the statute but not properly enforced. 5 ways establishments are getting around the smoking ban