Smoking in Costa Rica

In March 2012, Costa Rica passed one of the strictest smoking regulations in the world by a 45-2 vote in favor. This legislation has banned smoking in buses, taxis, trains and their terminals, work places, public buildings, restaurants, bars, casinos, and all enclosed public-access buildings, granting no exceptions (no separate “smoking areas” are permitted). It also bans smoking in outdoor recreational or educational areas such as parks, stadiums and university campuses. The bill requires cigarette packs to display text and photo warnings on at least 50 percent of packaging.^[1]

It introduced a tax of twenty colones per cigarette and prohibits any form of tobacco advertising, the use of misleading terms such as “light” or “milds” and the sale of small packages or individual cigarettes (setting a minimum of 20 cigarettes per package). Violators will be fined a minimum of 180.000 colones (US$355).^[2] Compliance with the law has been surprisingly high and smoking has disappeared in banned areas. Several programs and promotional campaigns have been started by the government and private institutions to promote quitting smoking, with very positive results.

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