LatinNews Daily Report - 28 February 2012

Costa Rica | Smoke-free. On 27 February Costa Rica’s legislators managed to approve the country’s anti-smoking law. The vote took place before the formal documents relating to the acceptance of a request for a formal consultation regarding the bill’s constitutionality, submitted before the supreme court of justice by some 10 members of the opposition, could be delivered to the national assembly. The documentation, which would have delayed the process, arrived after the 45 assembly members present (out of 57) had passed the bill by 43:2. The law bans smoking in public places, taxes each cigarette ¢20 (US$ 0.038), sets fines for those selling loose tobacco or cigarettes to those under the age of 18, and stipulates that 50% of each cigarette packet must display images and messages warning of tobacco’s harmful effects. President Laura Chinchilla must sanction the law before it goes into effect.

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