The law 174 that ban smoking in public and closed places started to be applied at 10 in the morning, noting that whoever investor or administration will be punished if they do not apply this law with a fine between the double of minimum wage which arrives to 675 thousand Lebanese liras to six times the amount.
In response to this decision, owners of restaurants and nightclubs organized in the street restaurants in Antelias a sit-in protest against the law banning smoking in closed public places, and which involves a large number of individuals.
Press sources said that restaurant owners in Antelias protesters and security forces are meeting in the meantime to try to persuade them not to escalate the movement.
For his part, Deputy Chairman of the Lebanese Association for Tourism Association Chairman restaurant owners and casinos in the south, Ali Tabaja said that the decision to ban smoking in public places is very bad and not deliberate, and he finds it as targeting the restaurants, nightclubs and tourist enterprises that suffer mainly from crises because of the deteriorating security situation.
From his side, head of the union owners of restaurants and cafes in Lebanon Paul Ariss said that the decision to ban smoking in Lebanon in public places is strict, despite the difficulty of the application, and it will have been better to pass it in a gradual rate.
Ariss pointed out that the decision will result in the closure of about 30% of the restaurants, cafes and nightclubs, and that at least two thousand employees will lose their jobs.
