The Knesset Law Committee on Monday gave its final stamp of approval to enforce fines that are meant to stamp out smoking in public places, including restaurants, coffee houses, bars and shopping centers.

Smokers who choose to ignore the law face a fine of up to NIS 1,000 ($260) for lighting up in public places.

Business owners will be penalized as well: fines of up to NIS 5,000 ($1,300) will be levied on businesses which allow smokers to puff away in violation of the law. Restaurant and coffee house owners will also be fined NIS 1,290 for each ashtray present on a table outside of special smoking zones.

"These are reasonable sanctions, and I hope that the public will take the legislation to heart," said Kadima Knesset Committee Chairman Menachem Ben Sasson.

Until July, business owners were only required to hang "No Smoking" signs in their establishments and essentially the no-smoking law already in existence was not enforced.

The new law, proposed in July by Likud Knesset Member and chairman of the Knesset Economic Affairs Committee, Gilad Erdan, passed unanimously.

As of November 7, the strict fines went into effect, requiring business owners to ask their customers not to smoke, and to report them to the local inspection authority if they persist in doing so.

Moreover, they are also required to post a hotline phone number in their establishments where customers can reach an inspector if they want to report a violation.

There is one accommodation, however: the establishments may set up separate ventilated areas for smokers. Owners of public recreation places are required to instruct smokers to put out their cigarettes, and are also mandated to file a complaint against violators with the municipality.

Last week, attorney Ido Almagor struck back with a petition to the High Court of Justice claiming the new bill infringed on the civil rights of Israeli smokers.

"There are over 1,250,000 smokers in Israel today," contended Almagor in his petition, "but their voices are silenced, and they are persecuted as a community." Almagor said the regulations set forth in the law that make allowances for those who want to light up are too complex and expensive for the average business owner to comply with.

Statistics published earlier this month by the Health Ministry belied concerns by business owners who are worried they will lose their customer base.

Only 23.2 percent of adult Israelis smoke, according to the survey, although 44 percent of non-smokers say they're uncomfortable telling those who puff that they would like them to cease releasing their second-hand smoke.

The study found that 80.3 percent of Israeli citizens agree that smoking should be prohibited in clubs, pubs and discotheques. In addition, 78.2 percent of the 3,154 respondents also felt smoking should be prohibited in cafes and restaurants. The highest percentage of anti-smokers came from those who said puffing should be prohibited in shopping malls – 84.8 percent. All of the respondents were over age 18.

Actually, the first law against smoking in public was passed by the Knesset in 1983, according to a report by the Israel Council for the Prevention of Smoking. By 1994, all private and public workplaces were included in the prohibition, and in 2001 restaurants, cafes and other public places joined the list. Local authorities, however, were often unwilling to risk their customer base by enforcing the law.