TENT, ZEUS 2 CLASSIC

TENT, ZEUS 2 CLASSIC

Well, not quite, but yesterday the Bavarian parliament voted overwhelmingly for a total ban on smoking in all places where food and drink are served as well as all public buildings from 1st January 2008.

This was the final stage in a long drawn out process. Originally, the proposed law would have allowed smoking in temporary structures such as beer tents, allowing the Oktoberfest to continue to be a smokers' paradise, as well as in one closed room in a restaurant or bar which has more than one room. In the latter case, the smoking room had to be smaller than the non-smoking rooms. At one stage, it was even proposed that discos could also remain smoking areas.

A few weeks ago, following the installation of a new Bavarian government after the retirement of Ministerpraesident Stoiber, the proposed law was strengthened to include all indoor areas. The vote was 140 in favour, 18 against and 8 abstentions. The ruling CSU was firmly in favour, although 14 of its MPs voted against. The SPD and Greens were also firmly in favour. Only the FDP was against the new law, on the grounds that it infringes the freedom of smokers.

Voices pleading for bar and restaurant owners to decide for themselves whether they wanted to be 'smoke free' or not had become more muted in recent months: it has clearly not worked. However, a number of bar and restaurant owners have joined together in a new association to fight the ban, arguing that smoking is a part of Bavarian life and will wreck the livelihood of small pubs in villages as well as ruining the atmosphere of the Oktoberfest. The Bavarian FDP General Secretary spoke yesterday of 'a black day for the Bavarian way of life'. The 'Stammtisch' is thought to be particularly under threat - the reserved table in a bar or restaurant where regular customers meet up to put the world to rights. Where smoking is believed to be an important part of the process.

Smoking in restaurants does seem to have been on the decrease this year, as people became accustomed to the idea that the ban would happen. However, there is still widespread agreement in Germany that smoking outdoors is not harmful at all and smoking while walking along the street, giving a face full of smoking to anyone nearby is still far more common in Germany than in many other European countries.

Only private meetings and parties are exempt from the law. Some landlords are proposing to set up private clubs to allow their customers to continue to smoke.

7th March: Following the CSU's drop in votes in the local elections last Sunday, the party bosses are now looking for a scapegoat and have come up with the anti-smoking law. Apparently, election meetings were well populated with vociferous opponents of the law and the CSU have taken this to mean that a significant proportion of the population are still opposed.

At the moment, it seems that the ban on smoking in beer tents may actually be delayed until 2009. The apparent reason for this is that tents at the Oktoberfest in Munich are too close together to allow space for emergency vehicles to get through if people are standing outside smoking. A change in the layout of the tents can only be made in 2009. The timing of the Bavarian government elections, which take place during the Oktoberfest, is claimed by the CSU to be irrelevant.

A further possible weakening of the law, to allow the 'Spanish solution' i.e. to allow single room cafes, bars and restaurants to decide whether to allow smoking or not, is also being discussed.

Margaret Leach http://www.bavarian-forest-holidays.com