ATHENS – Every cigarette put out equals a deep breath of health and progress, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Facebook on Sunday, on the occasion of World No Tobacco Day.

The day, celebrated every May 31, is under the auspices of the World Health Organization (WHO).

Mitsotakis said that "for several years, we in Greece would welcome World No Tobacco Day wrapped up in (second-hand) smoke and besieged by the threat it generates, (…) but in eight months, after the anti-smoking law was applied everywhere, everything changed."

"The time when everyone smoked in closed spaces seems to be deep in the past," an achievement, he added, that did not necessitate the use of fines and sentences. Personal responsibility became a social responsibility during the coronavirus pandemic, he noted, adding that the purpose is not to go to war against smokers, but against tobacco, whose consumption must be reduced by 25 pct by 2025.

In a separate message on Twitter, Health Minister Vassilis Kikilias said of the day, "Health is the most valuable asset, today and every day." Every day, he said, must become world day against smoking.