In Transcarpathia, NGOs are concerned about compliance with the law

NGOs became the most active advocates of anti-tobacco legislation in Ukraine. In Transcarpathia, members of the Foundation of Regional Initiatives and Transcarpathian community center are engaged in this activity. Its representatives visited all the public institutions of the regional center and several major cities in the region: Mukachevo and Beregovo, talked with the staff and owners of the establishments that were supposed to adjust their business activities to ensure compliance with the legal requirements.   
In general, the activists visited about 140 restaurants, cafes, bars, of which 62 were in Uzhgorod, 31 in Beregovo and 40 in Mukachevo. An important criterion of inspection was not only the absence of tobacco smoke – they also checked whether there were prohibitive signs in establishments and no ashtrays on the tables that have become redundant elements of tableware.Violators were found only in the regional center. There were 6 such establishments. Next, the activists wrote complaints to the Inspectorate of Consumer Rights Protection, which under these circumstances have to make an unscheduled inspection of the establishment.

Last week, the first three of such inspections were conducted in downtown Uzhgorod establishments. Journalists and organized community were able to take part in the inspection too. In all three cases, they detected violations of the "Tobacco Act" by the establishments.