You find them in front of hospitals, office buildings or in parks: small groups of smokers who gather to carry out their vices together. But what has long been forbidden in closed buildings can annoy nonsmokers outside as well. An English report says now that the smoking ban should also be extended to public places.
Photo: Istock
Is that also conceivable in Germany?
Quickly get out of the bar and a quartz? This is still possible almost everywhere. Even after the introduction of the smoking ban in the catering trade in 2008, there are still bars and pubs where smoking is permitted due to special regulations.
The "Royal Society for Public Health" assumes that smokers must be given more of their own zones to restrict them. Only through the absolute spatial separation would smokers become aware of the danger of their addiction.
The numbers of smokers in Germany are falling. According to the Federal Statistics Office, around 220 million cigarettes were smoked in 2013. In 1991 there were still 4 million. About 26 percent of Germans smoke. Compared to Austria and Greece - the front runners in Europe with over 40 percent of the total population - the number is rather low. Nevertheless, health authorities are sounding the alarm. The goal is, of course, that cigarette consumption drops to zero.
But is that even possible? Can one forbid a person in Germany to smoke on the street?
A few months ago, a ruling by the Federal Court caused a stir. A tenant was sued by his neighbors because he was constantly smoking on his balcony. The BHG decided in favor of the non-smoker. However, the smell has to be really big.
Basically, the way is clear for a number of such prohibitions. However, a complete ban on smoking can be ruled out, as this would not match the freedom of life protected by the Basic Law.
Smoking bans in other countries are already going further than in Germany : In Italy smoking is also banned in beer gardens and on terraces. In China, the "strictest non-smoking law in the world" was recently issued. Here there are patrols, which are responsible only for the compliance of smoking prohibitions. It threatens high penalties.
