Czech lawmakers ban smoking in restaurants

Czech lawmakers voted Friday to ban smoking in cafes and restaurants starting next May, following in the footsteps of much of Europe, but the chain-smoking president still needs to sign off the decree. "I hope we side with the civilised countries," Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka said ahead of the vote in the lower house of parliament. Eighteen other European countries already have such a law, which would come into effect in the Czech Republic on World No Tobacco Day 2017. The bill still needs approval from the senate and President Milos Zeman, a chain-smoker. Last year he said he probably would not use his veto.