Poisonous

Hanover (Germany), Feb. 24 (Reuters): Germany’s federal states agreed today to outlaw smoking in public buildings but stopped short of a blanket ban in pubs and restaurants as introduced in a number of other European countries.

The tentative agreement, which the country’s 16 state premiers must still approve, came after months of wrangling and in the face of strong resistance from the powerful German tobacco lobby. Almost a third of the German population smokes and federal government attempts to introduce a nationwide smoking ban in public places collapsed last December.

In future, smoking will be outlawed in schools, hospitals and buildings used for leisure and cultural purposes, said state representatives after a meeting in the northern German city of Hanover. Smokers will be allowed to indulge in designated rooms in pubs and restaurants.

“Today we are seeing a quantum leap for health protection in Germany, it is long overdue,” said federal consumer affairs minister Horst Seehofer. “It is a necessary step because there is no substance in a room more poisonous to health than smoke.”

However, the northern states of Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia are seeking exemptions to the plans which would allow some pubs to allow unlimited smoking.

Germany’s federal cabinet agreed in December to outlaw smoking in government buildings and on public transport but abandoned more ambitious plans to include pubs and restaurants, citing possible legal problems.

Nearly 140,000 Germans die each year from tobacco-related illnesses but the government has little financial incentive to crack down as it collects about 15 billion euros ($19.67 billion) a year in tobacco tax.

American Cynthia Barcomi condemned Germany’s slow progress on the issue. “I think it’s really cowardly,” she said.