TEHRAN – Iran will start banning smoking in public spaces from September 22, a decade after a relevant legislation was ratified, IRNA quoted the secretary general of Iranian Anti-Tobacco Association as saying on Monday.

Mohammadreza Masjedi said the full implementation of the law is made possible through joint cooperation of Department of Environment, health ministry, municipalities, and participation of the judicial system.

The law enumerates the public places as enclosed places of factories, hospitals, clinics, doctor’s offices, theaters, hotels, inns, lodges, restaurants, museums, department stores, cultural centers, public libraries, gyms, schools and universities, educational and research centers, holy sites, mosques, public transpiration, organizations, government offices, banks, town halls.

“Smoking claims 65,000 lives in Iran annually,” Masjedi regretted, an alarming figure that has to concern the public.

The death toll from smoking cigarettes and hookah, water pipes that are used to smoke specially made tobacco that comes in different flavors, outnumbers that of from traffic accidents.

“Smoking accounts for 25 percent of various cancer types as well as 50 percent of all diseases.”

He also noted that smoking contributes to cardiovascular and chronic respiratory diseases, respiratory infection, heart attacks, strokes, etc.