Many Cubans Think, Nice Try -- but No Cigar

The land of fine cigars has banned most smoking in public.

Cubans are no longer allowed to smoke in air-conditioned areas, offices, schools and sports centers.

Cigarette vending machines have been banned outright and state-run bars and restaurants must set up separate smoking areas.

Many Cubans are skeptical that the new rules will stick. More than half of the country’s adults smoke, and the state continues to hand out subsidized cigarettes to Cubans over the age of 50.

President Fidel Castro, once an aficionado of Cohiba cigars, gave up smoking two decades ago for health reasons.