During previous decades an attitude developed that if you are an intellectual, if you are thinking hard or have problems to solve, you are supposed to smoke. Now a slight decrease in smoking frequency has happened among university students, at least in the medical faculty and teachers' college. Half of the staff in the Ministry of Health smoke. Our politicians smoke a lot starting from the prime minister, most of the government and the majority of the parliament. Even half of the staff in the Ministry of Health smoke.
Some politicians also have direct or indirect links with the tobacco industry.
In that case it is very easy to see different issues from their point of view. Depending on these or other factors it has been difficult to pass new tobacco control legislation in Hungary. A comprehensive law has been prepared by the Ministry of Health but it has been suspended by other ministries. The main opposition comes from the Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Justice. They have made suggestions that would make the law worthless.