When smoking can cost you a fine in Jelgava

According to Kaspars Zakulis, director of Latvijas Zaļais punkts (Latvia's Green Dot organization), Latvian residents smoke more than two billion cigarettes every year, with 38% smoked outdoors. This results in roughly 400 tonnes of cigarette butts entering the environment annually. Research shows that in Jelgava, about one in six discarded cigarette butts is disposed of improperly — a rate exceeded only in Riga and Talsi.

Is smoking on balconies allowed?

The topic gained attention after a reader complained to the newspaper about a neighbor smoking on an apartment building balcony despite requests to stop. Paula Liepa, a representative of the Jelgava municipal police, clarified that smoking on balconies of multi-apartment buildings is only permitted if no other resident of the building objects, as set out in the law governing tobacco products.

What to do if smoking is a nuisance?

Residents bothered by smoking can call the Jelgava municipal police's 24-hour phone lines, and should do so immediately so officers can respond and document the violation on the spot. This year the police have received 12 complaints about smoking in prohibited areas. Violations of smoking restrictions can result in a warning or a fine of up to twenty fine units.

Where is smoking banned?

Smoking is prohibited in the presence of children and pregnant women, in educational institutions and dormitories, in healthcare and social care facilities, in places of detention, in public transport shelters and on platforms, in stairwells and other shared building spaces, at workplaces, in public buildings, in children's playgrounds, parks and swimming areas, and within 10 meters of entrances to state institution buildings. Such areas are usually marked with a sign. Smoking and the use of tobacco substitute products is also banned for anyone under the age of 20.