Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search

July 5, 2008 7:24:43 PM CDT

Learn about Newser Points »

Back to the grid

Portugal PM Gets Heat for Smoking on Plane

Posted May 16, 08 2:41 AM CDT in Science & Health,  World    Most Covered

(Newser) – Portugal banned smoking in public places five months ago but the country's prime minister appears to have forgotten the rule his own government enacted. Jose Socrates—known to be a smoker in private—stunned passengers and triggered an uproar when he blithely lit up in the first-class cabin of a TAP flight from Lisbon to Caracas.

"I didn't think I was breaking the law," the prime minister told reporters after his infraction was revealed. "I thought I could smoke. I always did before. Unfortunately, this has generated controversy and I am regretful."

Source Guardian (UK)

Editor Recommended
Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates, with his Spanish counterpart Jose Luis Zapatero. Both men have been criticized for smoking in public in defiance of their own governments'bans.   (AP Photo/Paulo Duarte)
Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez, right, speaks with Portugal's Prime Minister Jose Socrates during a welcoming ceremony at the presidential palace in Caracas.   (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez, right, and Portugal's Prime Minister Jose Socrates in an oil field in Venezuela's Orinoco Oil Belt.   (AP Photo/Miraflores Press Office)
prev    next
play

Threads (1 of 1)

Tags

Venezuela  • Spain  • Portugal  • smoking ban  • Lisbon  • Caracas  • secondhand smoke


Loading...

Loading...

Related Thread: Smoke-Free World

Next story from this section »

Today's Most Popular


Other World Stories

What is Newser?

2008 Codie Finalist

Newser gives you more news in less time. We search for the best and most important stories all over the web, read them for you, and deliver concise and sharp summaries—along with links to the full text. Newser provides a way to stay on top of an ever-expanding horizon of news and opinion—politics, sports, business, trends, technology, personalities, crimes, and controversies. Newser keeps you not just better informed, but, with our signature graphic interface and smart condensed format, more enjoyably informed.

Learn more »