We covered the special Bavarian situation several times in the past (here and here).
Here is what has happened since then:
1. The law was semi-liberalized: the tolerance/smokers‘ club were abolished as a loophole, but smokers’ rooms and plain smokers‘ bar (under certain conditions) became legal.
2. The antis reacted to that by starting a plebiscite. With hundreds of thousands of €uros (smelling of Big Pharma), a favorable press, and the support of several political parties (among them Social Democrats and Green Party) with their countless local volunteers they managed to have enough signatures collected for a referendum. The media did not care about the sources of their money nor their collaboration with a former right-wing extremist parliamentary candidate who spearheaded an association of allegedly 1,000 Bavarian hospitality venues in favor of the ban (nobody ever saw that list).
3. On July 4, 2010 (US Independence Day – cynically), the referendum took place, and the antis won by 60 to 40 %. Their campaign was boosted by media and political support, whereas other political parties chose not to engage in that issue or to show only limited opposition. Counter-campaigns did exist (including independent ones – one of them supported by us) and made some difference, but not enough – evidently.
4. So now there is a total ban on smoking in all Bavarian bars, restaurants, discotheques and so forth. Well, not 100 %. The Bavarian minister of health (a slightly more reasonable member of that species) announced that there is still the option of allowing smoking in an invitees-only environment, e.g. a birthday party, a wedding party or a club meeting. If the persons attending are individually known to the host and others are being prevented from entering the respective room or the whole bar/restaurant during that particular event, smoking tobacco can be permitted by the owner and the host. The number of events like that has grown over the past weeks and it is safe to say that it will continue to grow during the winter.
The interpretation of the law, however, can differ from town to town, with some municipalities cracking down on smokers/bar owners more repressively and more arbitrarily than others.
3 comments:
At least Bavarians have the option of "private" parties, which we in New York don't. Maybe, contrary to the goal of the antis, this will actually be an opportunity for increased socializing and solidarity as strangers connect and learn about each other to be "known" to the host. This could work especially well in small towns and close-knit neighborhoods. But it will still suck fo us poor tourists.
@keagan
There are various similar sources in German. As for stuff in English, you probably won't find exactly the same info we wrote here at any other place on the internet. (That's wy we put it here, BTW.) Feel free to cite this blog entry. Or, if you need any specific sources regarding some aspect of the above text, please ask.
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