Iran's parliament has passed a bill prohibiting smoking in public places in the hope of stemming the popularity of one of the country's favorite habits.
The anti-smoking bill states the government is obliged to fight smoking by campaigning against financial, health, and social hazards of the habit in order to prevent youngsters from becoming addicted.
The places where smoking will no longer be allowed under the bill include mosques, cinemas, restaurants, department stores, public transport, and stadiums.
The bill, passed on Monday, also requires the government to ban all tobacco advertising, while anyone who induces people to smoke will be prosecuted.
Health warnings should cover at least 50 percent of imported and domestically-produced packs, and they must not carry categorizations such as light, ultra-light, and mild. The government must also impose a tax on every pack.
The spokesman for the health commission of Iranian parliament, Nour-el Dinn Peer Moazen, said: "Each year smokers spend around 60,000 billion riyals [$6.8 billion] on smoking, three-fold what we spend on the country's health.
"Every year around 50,000 people die in the country [of smoking], which in coming years will soar to 200,000," he added.
According to unofficial estimates, one in every six Iranians is a smoker.
Iranians banned from smoking in public
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