The smoking ban in Greece is not effective, according to Greek officials, who said that they will launch a review of the law that was passed earlier this year, following complaints from non-smokers at home and pressure from the European Union.

Greek health minister Mariliza Xenogiannakopoulou told of "great gaps in the application of the smoking ban" as many establishments were simply not complying, the Greek newspaper Kathimerini reported on 11 November 2009.
Similar complications were observed also in Croatia where on 10 September 2009 the outcry against the ban went as far as to have it partially repealed.
Against the backdrop of the general population flouting the ban, and establishments refusing to apply the law, Panayiotis Behrakis, head of the Greek co-ordinating committee against smoking, said that the government should not allow any exceptions to the decree. Some establishments could legally apply for smoking licences, but Behrakis says the ban should be absolute. Additionally, the price of cigarettes in Greece should be increased in an attempt to deter youngsters from picking up the habit. Greece, like Bulgaria, has some of the cheapest cigarettes in the European Union.
Meanwhile, pubs and clubs in the Greek capital that have applied for a smoking licence, 2,200 in all, have encountered red tape and cumbersome bureaucracy and delays in processing their applications. (pi)