Use of electronic cigarettes in collective environments is prohibited in Mato Grosso | RDNEWS

The use of electronic cigarettes in collective, public or private environments is prohibited. The proposal was presented by then state deputy Sheila Klener (PSDB) during her time in Parliament, in the second half of the year, and adds a provision to Law No. 9,256/2009. The change was approved on October 24th by the Legislative Assembly of Mato Grosso (ALMT).

“Electronic cigarettes are completely harmful to health and their indiscriminate use is a case of public health. One of the social groups that are most affected by this device is teenagers, who, to feel like they belong to a group, or even have status, end up using and quickly becoming addicted to these cigarettes. One electronic cigarette is equivalent to 20 regular cigarettes”, explains Sheila Klener.

The so-called Mato Grosso Anti-Smoking Law, Law No. 9,256/2009, establishes standards for health protection and liability for damage to the consumer, under the terms of art. 24, items V, VIII and XII, of the Federal Constitution, to create environments for collective use free from smoking products. According to the law, it is up to those responsible for collective use areas to inform and warn users about the prohibition, as well as to take action if the offender persists in the act.

Therefore, inspection of compliance with the law is carried out by the Deputy Secretariat for Protection and Defense of Consumer Rights (Procon-MT) and by Health Surveillance, which monitor whether establishments are complying with the obligation to warn about the law through signs and guide local users if they do not comply with the law.

According to the coordinator of inspection, control and market monitoring, Ivo Vinícius Firmo, inspection of compliance with Law No. 9,256/2009 occurs in three ways, after complaints, through integrated actions with other bodies or on a scale of scheduled inspection. In Cuiabá and Várzea Grande carried out by Procon-MT and in the interior through the municipal Procon.

“The first thing we monitor is the warning through signs, that is, whether the location has notices to inform citizens about the ban on smoking in the location. If a user smokes, the establishment is advised to warn them and, if they insist, ask them to leave the premises. Only when the person refuses to stop smoking or leave the premises are the security forces called in to ensure the law is enforced”, explains Ivo Vinícius.

Also according to the coordinator, since 2011, Procon has included electronic smoking devices among the items prohibited by Law No. 9,256/2009 and that the legislative update brings more legitimacy to the inspection bodies.

Pulmonologist Arlan Azevedo believes that the measure helps with prevention. “The official rules provide support to curb the use of polluting devices that are extremely harmful to health, such as electronic cigarettes. It is a way to protect people from exposure to smoke that is harmful to people’s lung health and other organs. The legal basis that discourages the ‘sale’ of a ‘socially accepted’ product, which is not supposed to happen”, defended the doctor.