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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Polish Drivers Face Ban On Smoking

Compiled From Wire Services

The burning question on Poland’s jammed roads and highways sounds a lot like a late-night television joke: Can a Polish motorist smoke and drive at the same time?

The answer has an equally risible punch line: Ask several hundred Polish lawmakers, and you still won’t know for sure.

The Polish Senate on Friday took up the matter of smoking and driving in the country’s largely unnavigable cities and headed on a collision course with the Parliament’s lower house, the Sejm. Proposed legislation would make Poland the first country in Europe - and perhaps the world - to ban smoking while driving in populated areas. The prohibition, adopted by the Sejm, is rooted in the simple truth that Poland’s rash of first-time drivers is a public menace and desperately needs both hands on the wheel.

But some fear the ban may make things worse by depriving motorists of their nicotine fix when they need it most.

“Practically all of us have concluded it is more dangerous for everyone if there is an upset driver out there who can’t smoke his cigarettes,” said Sen. Adam Andrzej Daraz.

On Friday, the Senate obliged, voting to delete the prohibition. The legislation now goes back to the Sejm. Under Polish law, the more powerful lower house has final say on such matters.