Several shopping centers in Costa Rica are joining the worldwide fight against cigarette smoke, TV’s Teletica reported.
Mall owner Grupo Roble has banned smoking from its premises, in step with prohibitions in bars and restaurants, public places and workplaces that have gone into force in countries around the world including renowned smokers’ havens, such as Italy and France.
The Costa Rican government signed a World Health Organization agreement in 2003 aimed at reducing smoking in this country, with an estimated 750,000 smokers, according to the Institute on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse (IAFA).
The aim of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control is to reduce an estimated 5 million smoking-related deaths each year. The Legislative Assembly, however, has yet to ratify the accord.
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