German coalition agrees on far-reaching smoking ban
Source: Reuters
BERLIN, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Germany's ruling coalition parties agreed on Friday on a plan to ban smoking in theatres, cinemas, hospitals and schools in a drive to toughen some of the most lax smoking rules in western Europe. The agreement was reached among experts from the Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) and the Social Democrats (SPD). The coalition must now draw up a draft law for parliament to vote on before the deal can become law. The party members also agreed smoking should be banned in sport clubs and on public transport. Pubs, discos, bars and nightclubs would be exempt. "This is an enormous advance for the protection of non-smokers and for health protection in Germany," said Health Minister Ulla Schmidt, adding that she hoped the coalition parties' broader parliamentary groups would accept the deal. Nearly one in three German adults smokes regularly and close to 140,000 Germans die every year from tobacco-related illnesses -- far more than from traffic accidents, alcohol, drugs and AIDS combined. Resistance to tougher smoking restrictions is high in a country where the anti-smoking movement has been tainted by the the legacy of Nazi hostility to smoking and where lighting up became a cherished mark of tolerance after World War Two. The debate in Germany came as Britain's health secretary announced smoking will be banned in all workplaces and enclosed public spaces in England from July 1 next year.
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