The Lebanese parliament approved on Wednesday a draft bill banning smoking inside public places, the Lebanese National News Agency NNA reported. The bill envisages fines of up to 600 dollars for restaurant owners who fail to uphold the ban. Parliament also approved a law banning smoking on board Middle East Airlines (MEA), acting on a request from the national carrier. Under the new law, all forms of tobacco advertising will be illegal. Lebanon signed the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) in 2004, but the country has not yet adhered to it.