Soft on Smoking
September 27, 2006
Germany's ruling coalition is under fire from the Green party after it was revealed Tuesday that the conservatives and Social Democrats have decided against a blanket ban on smoking in restaurants across the country. The Greens have accused the government of bending to the will of the powerful tobacco lobby.
The Christian Democratic Union's (CDU) parliamentary leader Norbert Röttgen announced that the CDU, its Bavarian sister party the Christian Social Union (CSU) and the Social Democratic Party (SPD) would consider the facts regarding the dangers of passive smoking in its application to parliament on a smoking ban but would also be sure not to let the rights of non-smokers outweigh those of smokers.
Conservative sources privately accept this to mean that the general prohibition of smoking in restaurants is now off the cards.
The precise contents of the coalition application are to be negotiated at a meeting on Wednesday. It is expected that the application for a ban will include a smoking ban in restaurants in establishments which have a floor area of over 75 square meters. However, it is also expected to call for a separate area for smokers even in restaurants of this size.
These recommendations precisely correspond to those put forward by the German Federation of the Cigarette Industry (VdC).
Coalition accused of profit before health
Bärbel Höhn, acting leader of the Green party's parliamentary faction, accused the coalition of "kneeling before the tobacco lobby" and told the Süddeutsche Zeitung that "it is obvious the health of employees no longer plays a role" in the government's policies. A 50 percent increase in the possibility of lung cancer in restaurant employees was "obviously something the CDU and SPD could live with," Höhn said.
The Greens urged the government to release details of its agenda before the meeting with the consumer's committee on Wednesday. The committee's chairperson Ulrike Höfken from the Green party has already made it clear that she believes partial bans are "not a significant solution" to the problem.
The latest studies about the dangers of passive smoking and the ineffectiveness of the present regulations showed that a full legal ban on smoking in restaurants is necessary to protect the health of employees working regularly in smoky environments.