TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Rich Chile neighborhood bans smoking in parks and squares
An exclusive neighborhood in Chile's capital Santiago became the first municipality in the country to ban smoking in open public spaces such as parks and squares.
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
Elevated view of Las Condes district in Santiago, Chile. (Shuttestock/Jose Luis Stephens)
A
n exclusive neighborhood in Chile's capital Santiago on Thursday became the first municipality in the country to ban smoking in open public spaces such as parks and squares.
Smoking is now off-limits in more than 500 open public spaces in the wealthy Las Condes neighborhood of 300,000 residents, in what appears to be a rare move in South America.
"This is a pioneering regulation in Chile but probably many municipalities will adopt it," said Las Condes mayor Joaquin Lavin.
The measure is similar to those adopted in cities such as New York and aims to keep smoking away from children's play areas and sports fields.
As part of the new rules, areas of more than three hectares (7.5 acres) will have designated smoking areas, Lavin told reporters.
Read also: Japan to restrict heated tobacco use but give up on indoor smoking ban
Following a one-month trial period in which fines for non-compliance will be symbolic, infringements will be penalized by up to $345.
These are the latest in increasingly tough anti-smoking laws in Chile where lighting up is already banned in restaurants, bars and nightclubs, and where there are restrictions on tobacco advertising.
Around 30 percent of Chile's 17.5 million inhabitants smoke cigarettes.
The Ministry of Health says this habit is responsible for 45 deaths a day and more than 20,000 heart attacks and cardiac problems resulting in hospitalization.
