A legislative proposal has been tabled to the Parliament of Iceland proposing to ban all sales of cigarettes, except for cases in which a medical prescription has been issued.
The prescription will be given by a doctor only following a documented treatment for nicotine dependency which has proven inefficient.
The bill has been tabled by former Iceland Minister of Health and Social Affairs Siv Friedleifsdottir, and includes a drastic raise in the price of cigarettes from 900 to 3,000 kronur per pack (USD 8 to 26).
Iceland has recorded a reduction of the number of smokers by almost half for the last 20 years.