The court ruling - education by force

Although the decision of the German Constitutional Court offers a short-term relief for many bar owners and customers, its overall message is very dangerous.

It has been critized sharply not only by Netzwerk Rauchen - Forces Germany.
Dr. Josef Iseensee, Professor emeritus at the University of Bonn and a very renowned scholar of constitutional law, calls it "a pyrrhic victory for professional freedom because it paves the way for a total smoking ban and thereby for an ecological education by force of the complete population".
According to him, the court allows "brutal action" in the field of "health protection".

One of the eight judges, professor Masing, in his minority vote, fears a "patronizing paternalism" through total smoking bans.

Professor Winfried Hassemer, the former Vice President of the Constitutional Court, attacks the tendencies to "ostracize" tobacco as a drug - and the lobbies behind it. That makes him one of the few who openly point out that these bans are anti-smoking instead of 'protecting' anyone.
"The cigarette is a part of our culture", the retired judge, a non-smoker, says, "On the street, I sometimes walk behind someone who smokes a good cigarette, I smell that and enjoy that as well. There is no point in being radical about things that have to do with the general everyday life."

In addition to the mentioned jurists, professor Günter Ropohl, the author of "Smokers of all countries, unite!", also comments negatively about the ruling, describes it as being "contradictory and biased".