A Hungarian law banning tobacco smoking at public transport stops is being seen as a failure, according to a story in the Budapest Business Journal citing a Magyar Idők report.
In five years, fewer than 500 fines have been imposed for breaking this law.
The law, passed in 2012, bans smoking at public transport bus and tram stops, in pedestrian underpasses and on train platforms.
But this had not seemed to have driven smokers away, mostly because there were not enough personnel in public administration to enforce the law.
In 2013, 3,150 checks were carried out and 43 fines imposed; in 2014, 2,288 checks were carried out and 102 fines imposed; in 2015, 946 checks were carried out and 94 fines imposed; in 2016, 8,233 checks were carried out and 140 fines imposed; and last year, 754 checks were carried out and 111 fines imposed.
Few fines for smokers
