"Today you can't smoke in restaurants while main meals are being served, but this new law will completely abolish this rule," Janeček said. "It will instead say that you can only smoke in places clearly marked as suitable for smoking, which could mean anything, even a simple ashtray on your table. ... People will be able to smoke in restaurants and other similar dining facilities at all times."

With more countries introducing smoking bans, the Czech lower house took up the issue and approved its version of the bill June 29. If endorsed by the Senate and signed by President Václav Klaus, parts of it will come into effect as soon as Jan. 1, Janeček said.

Apart from the rules governing restaurants, the only other new measure under the bill would ban smoking on public transport platforms, according to Health Ministry official Jarmila Vedralová. Ministry spokesman Václav Šebor added, "We were in favor of a stricter law, but deputies decided otherwise."

Sweden last month became the latest European country to outlaw smoking in restaurants and bars, joining Ireland, Norway and Italy. Meanwhile, the tobacco industry has welcomed the weaker Czech regulations.

Richard Vavřík, financial director of Imperial Tobacco Czech Republic, said that imposing a total smoking ban or forcing restaurants to provide separate areas for smokers would damage the hospitality industry, the Czech News Agency reported.

The reported number of Czechs who smoke has declined slightly in recent years. In 1996, 32 percent of men and 20 percent of women smoked; by 2002 those figures had fallen to 31 percent and 18 percent, respectively, according to Health Ministry statistics. However, the number of smokers aged 15 to 18 more than doubled from 14 percent to almost 30 percent in the same period.

According to the Czech Anti-Tobacco Coalition, about 50 people die from smoking every day in this country.