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Although Slovenia is not actively considering a total smoking ban, it already has active restrictions on smoking in public. The law states that there must be a clear physical divide between smoking and non-smoking areas. However, there is an exception to this, which many Slovenian pubs and restaurants take advantage of: The areas do not need to be separated if there is appropriate ventilation preventing the air in both areas from mixing. What constitutes "proper ventilation" seems to be open to interpretation - at least by some business

Hungary has some of the worst statistics in the EU for smoking and smoking-related illness and deaths. And there's more cause for concern. Smoking among women and young people is on the rise. Agi Varga of Radio Budapest investigates the possible reasons and how Hungary is confronting the problem:

According to a recent report nearly eighty-thousand Europeans a year die as a result of passive smoking. The study by a number of leading cancer groups says the death toll is particularly high among workers in restaurants, bars, pubs and nightclubs. In the EU only Ireland, Italy, Malta and Sweden have banned smoking in enclosed public areas and workplaces. No Central European country has yet gone so far. Deborah Arnett is Director of ASH, the British anti-smoking lobby - she told Austrian Radio's Steve Crilley all about passive smoking.

At the beginning of the year, the Czech Republic adopted a new law on smoking in public places. In some respects the law goes further than previous legislation by banning smoking not only in public places like schools and government buildings, but also areas outside: train stations, tram and bus stops. This has not been without problems. For example, where does a bus or tram stop "officially" begin or end? The answer is not always clear, calling into question whether the law can actually be enforced. Jan Velinger has details:

More than 3 million Poles are believed to have quit smoking over the past 15 years since first nationwide anti-smoking campaigns were launched in the early 90s. From a country which led the grim global statistics for smoking Poland turned into a leader in the introduction of anti-smoking regulation. Bad news, however, is that a growing number of teenagers are taking up the habit.

About 40 percent of adult Slovaks smoke. The trend among adults has stabilized, but the number of young smokers is on the increase - mainly those experimenting with tobacco between 10 and 12 years. Most alarmingly, the number of 16-year-old girls who smoke has doubled in recent years. Katarina Richterova looks at the law and the smoker in Slovakia:

In the mid 1980's Hungary regularly made the headlines for one unhappy reason - it had the world's highest suicide rate - an average of 46 suicides a year for every hundred thousand people. And many thought rates of depression and suicide would increase after the fall of communism. But to the surprise of many, the number of suicides has fallen.

Community-based care was a little known concept under communism, when the prevalent approach was to keep the mentally ill in institutions, and out of sight. But things are slowly changing, as steps are taken around the region towards destigmatisation and re-integration. In the Czech Republic, for instance, there is now a growing number of cafes which are helping provide the mentally ill with a route back to normal life.

The World Health Organisation says depression is number four in the list of the world's major diseases in terms of time suffered. And the problem is multiplying. By the year 2020, depression is expected to be the 2nd most common health complaint in all ages and both sexes.

For the past several years police statistics in Poland have been registering close to 5,000 suicides annually. What is most alarming is a steady 15% annual rise in suicides among the youngest generation.