Smoking ban in outdoor restaurants - also conceivable in Germany?

In some countries there are initiatives to ban smoking from outdoor dining.

Scientists are calling for stricter measures in Germany.

Kassel - The introduction of the smoking ban in restaurants and pubs caused an outcry in Germany in 2007.

In the meantime, there is a more or less strict ban on tobacco in the catering trade in all federal states.

But what if you weren't even allowed to smoke in the beer garden in the future?

It has now become a matter of course that smokers go outside to smoke.

At the same time, it goes without saying that people will continue to smoke at beer garden tables and in outdoor restaurants.

However, many people are also bothered outside when the smoke moves in their direction.

That is why there are plans in other countries to ban smoking in outdoor restaurants as well.

Cities in England introduce smoking bans in outdoor dining

In England, several cities are planning to increasingly ban smoking from outdoor dining.

Manchester, Newcastle and other municipalities have licensed extended sidewalk seating on the condition that it be made smoke-free, the Guardian reports.

The county of Oxfordshire even announced that it wants to become smoke-free by 2025. And not only there the plans are ambitious, according to the Guardian, New Zealand also wants to be smoke-free by 2025. There should be a sales ban for everyone born after 2004 - young people shouldn't even start smoking.

Could the smoking ban be extended in Germany too?

In the run-up to the non-smoker protection laws, there were concerns that the catering trade could go bankrupt.

In the end, this did not come true and one "got used to it in no time at all", says the psychologist and sociologist Reiner Hanewinkel, head of the Kiel Institute for Therapy and Health Research.

“In countries like North Rhine-Westphalia and Bavaria with a strict smoking ban, things are unfortunately different.

Here sales in the beverage-based gastronomy have collapsed, many small corner pubs have fallen by the wayside over the years, ”says the German Hotel and Restaurant Association.

Expand smoking bans: Researchers want tobacco-free Germany by 2040

Hanewinkel does not see the company as ready for an extension of the smoking ban and further drastic steps.

"That would make a lot of noise," said the psychologist.

A group of cancer researchers around the Cancer Research Center (DKFS), the German Cancer Aid and other organizations are calling on the federal government to reduce cigarette consumption through strict measures.

The strategy for a tobacco-free Germany by 2040 envisages reducing the proportion of adults who smoke to five percent and the proportion of young people who smoke to less than two percent.

From the point of view of the researchers, the way to get there is primarily through prices: They are calling for a radical increase in tobacco tax in order to increase tobacco prices by at least ten percent annually.

For 2022 to 2026, however, the federal government is only planning to raise the tobacco tax by around 2.5 percent * per year.

The proportion of adults who smoke is currently around 28 percent.

The trend is downward.

According to the federal government, the proportion of young people who smoke has also decreased by two thirds over the past 10 to 15 years.

However, the consumption of e-cigarettes is increasing, especially among adolescents and young adults.

Smoking ban in outdoor restaurants: Could this also happen in Germany?

The scientists are also calling for a complete ban on tobacco advertising, an increase in the age of sale and the creation of “completely tobacco-free living environments”. The latter provides for laws for completely smoke-free gastronomy in all federal states, including a ban on the use of tobacco heaters, e-cigarettes and water pipes, but also the enforcement and expansion of smoking bans on public transport.

Not smoking outside at all - that would be another step in a process in which you have to take people with you, says Hanewinkel. According to the expert, however, a complete ban on smoking in the guest rooms must first be put in place. Because this is currently only available in Bavaria, North Rhine-Westphalia and Saarland. Smoking should also be banned at bus stops, he suggests. "A lot of people would go with you." As for further bans in the car or in the stadium, my Hanewinkel: "We got used to bans very quickly." The proportion of smoking areas on Deutsche Bahn trains has continued to decrease over the decades. says a train spokeswoman. For many years now, you have not been allowed to smoke in trains at all.

According to the assessment of the German Hotel and Restaurant Association, smoking bans, with clearly defined exceptions, not only take into account the protection of non-smokers and minors, but also the wishes of smoking guests and hosts.

The rule is: where people eat, they don't smoke.

That is a “good compromise”, it says in a statement.

(sne / dpa)