Butting Out on A Global Scale

By Julie Rawe

Jet setters heading to Cuba next week for the annual Havana Cigar Festival need not panic: although the home of the Cohiba banned smoking in enclosed public places on Feb. 7, festival venues will be exempt. Despite a lax kickoff in Cuba, similar bans in other countries have managed to clear the air:

o Italy On Jan. 10, smoking was banned in enclosed public places except in separately ventilated rooms. A week later, a police sweep of 1,263 bars and restaurants turned up only nine violators. Says a Roman: "I'm for the ban because it helps me smoke less." As proof, cigarette sales nationwide are down 23%.

o Bhutan This Himalayan nation became the first to prohibit not only smoking in public, but also all sales of tobacco. In a kingdom with few smokers (owing in part to a local belief that traces the tobacco plant's origin to a she-devil), the black-market price of a pack of Marlboros has doubled, to $2.60, since the ban took effect in December.

o Ireland The Emerald Isle last March became the first country to ban smoking in virtually all workplaces, including pubs. The Office of Tobacco Control, in a six-month update, reported 94% compliance. A hotline for snitches still gets up to 50 calls a week.

o India Enforcement has been slack since smoking was banned in public places last May along with most tobacco ads. When asked how many fines have been issued, a spokesman for the New Delhi police snaps, "Speak to the government directly. They pass these laws. We assume they have officers to enforce these laws as well." --By Julie Rawe. Reported by TIME's foreign correspondents