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• German High Court Says Bavarian Anti-Smoking Law Constitutional  

Germany's highest court said a law that bans smoking in restaurants in the state of Bavaria is constitutional, rejecting an appeal by an unidentified smoker and two innkeepers.

The Bavarian law is in line with a July 30 ruling that permits smoking bans as long as they don't allow for exceptions, the Karlsruhe-based Constitutional Court said today. Allowing smoking in beer tents until the end of this year doesn't breach rules because the exemption is of a temporary nature, it said.

The Bavarian state law, one of the strictest in Germany, doesn't apply to clubs with a restricted membership because they aren't open to the public. That regulation doesn't impinge on innkeepers' freedom of profession, the court said.

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Pete Robinson: Smoking ban victory for German publicans 

The answer is hiding in this line from The Publican's news report of Germany's victory: "The situation differs to that in the UK where a total smoking ban covers all public places, meaning a level playing field for all businesses."

When our Trade leaders SHOULD have been fighting against the ban they fought instead for the 'level playing field' - i.e. the blanket ban. With greedy eyes fixated on bogus figures predicting a surge of new business they gambled everything on the 'new opportunity' and lobbied hard for no exemptions whatsoever, e.g. for members clubs.

In so doing they signed their own death warrant. . . .

It's not just our Industry leaders either. We are all to blame - for our appalling apathy and blind faith in doing as we're bloody well told. We naively believed New Labour's 2005 manifesto pledges and never saw the blanket ban being slipped in under the radar. . . .

Contrast that with Germany, where a series of marches saw over 1,000 publicans at a time marching through major cities. Almost every bar raised petitions signed wholesale by their eager customers. Huge numbers put up a standard wall sign outside declaring - "Rauchen in dieser Kneipe" - This is a smoking pub! . . .

loads of pubs are making a mint now 'cause with all that clean air they attract a better class of customer. We don't want those horrible smokers back, no way.

Have we all gone mad? Allowing ASH to dominate press releases leads to smoking customers believing they are no longer welcome in pubs - and they are blaming you! You might just as well hang a sign above your door saying just that unless you help counter that propaganda.

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• Germany Mulls Way Forward for Smoking Ban After Court Ruling 

German politicians are calling for a comprehensive, nationwide law against smoking on the heels of the recent ruling by the German Constitutional Court to partially overturn bans in several German states.

After years of dragging its feet on implementing a smoking ban, Germany went smoke-free in bars and restaurants this year in a move that has both raised hackles and won praise. So last Wednesday's court ruling, which found that individual state laws allowing bars to set up separate smoking and non-smoking areas gave large multi-room pubs an advantage over smaller one-room pubs, was one that was met with fierce debate.

Renate Kuenast, the parliamentary co-leader of the opposition Green Party, criticized the federal government in comments on the Web site of German newsmagazine Der Spiegel on Sunday.

"It was an act of cowardice to leave protection of non-smokers up to the states," Kuenast said.

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Hamish Champ: The German smoking ban and why the nation's 'yoof' eschews British boozers 

I had an interesting chat with the boss of a smallish pubco last week. Sitting in his office based deep in the North of England we discussed the problems currently besetting the trade and inevitably got around to the subject of the smoking ban.

"The ban is without question the major reason why so many pubs in rural and community locations are suffering," the executive told me. . . .

Meanwhile, the pro-smoking lobby has been heartened by a German legal argument that has ruled that the banning smoking in bars of a certain size - eg, the pokey little ones - in that country was unconstitutional. Such establishments can now welcome back smokers with open arms. "Wunderbar!" you might say.

Yet I reckon the part-repeal will, if anything, simply confirm that an outright and comprehensive ban is the only practical route forward.

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• Germans favour national smoking ban 

A wide majority of Germans want a comprehensive smoking ban instead of state-by-state rules, German newspaper Bild am Sonntag reported on Sunday.

Roland Koch, premier of the German state of Hesse, told the newspaper he would open talks with other state premiers on a comprehensive ban. Koch promised to put the issue on the agenda of the next meeting of state premiers in Dresden in October.

"It is sensible for the states to reach as much of an amicable consensus on non-smoker protection as possible and to prevent a patchwork of regulations across the country," Koch said. "We should also agree not to turn this into a political debate."

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German court overturns smoking bans in 2 states  

But in the eyes of many residents here, the smoking ban had turned into a David-and-Goliath narrative for local business owners, pitting big bars capable of supporting separate smoking rooms against the smaller ones that could not. "I think it's super, because it gives the little bars a chance to survive against the larger ones," said Nelli Böhm, 21, a university student who supported the ruling, despite being a nonsmoker.

Enforcement in the capital was lax at best, leading to spats between smokers and nonsmokers, as locales ran the gamut from following the rules to tolerating the habit to, in rare cases, encouraging civil disobedience. A small bar known as Doors in the gentrified but still bohemian neighborhood of Prenzlauer Berg was one of three establishments that successfully challenged the ban.

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Puffers' Delight: German Court Partially Overturns Smoking Ban  

The smoking ban was partially overturned in two German states on Wednesday after the country's highest court ruled that it put small bars at an unfair disadvantage. The judges ruled that states must now either relax their rules or ban smoking entirely. . . .

However, the victory could yet prove to be Pyrrhic. According to the ruling, were Germany to opt for a complete smoking ban in restaurants and bars -- instead of one allowing for separate smoking rooms -- then the ban would be constitutional. Court President Hans-Jürgen Papier said that the smoking ban would need to be completely redrawn by the end of 2009 -- and German states must then decide to either relax their rules to remove the unfair disadvantage to small bars or ban smoking entirely in all restaurants and pubs.

"Protecting the public from health risks -- whereby the legislator should also take into account passive smoking -- is of paramount importance to the community," Papier said.

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• 'Not a Victory for Smokers' 

German papers are predicting legal chaos throughout the land, with some commentators wondering -- again -- whether the government should regulate smoking at all.

The Financial Times Deutschland writes:

"The court's verdict has changed nothing about the absurd laws to 'protect non-smokers' in Germany. Instead, the exceptions are now even more absurd . . .

The left-leaning Süddeutsche Zeitung writes:

"The state parliaments … may now pass 'strict, exception-free smoking bans in bars and restaurants.' But when they decide to loosen the laws in certain cases and allow exceptions, they need to pay attention to the economic burdens placed on owners who can't fulfil those conditions -- like non-smoking rooms. So far so good. But the verdict upholds the status quo without addressing whether a general and absolute ban on smoking in restaurants and bars is constitutional."

"Germans can now assume it is constitutional -- but no one knows why the court has implicitly approved it. A general and absolute ban was not at issue in this lawsuit. The court's latest piece of jurisprudence is therefore as superficial as it is irritating."

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SULLUM: Smoke 'Em While You Can 

In recent years, American anti-smoking activists and public health officials have started to openly embrace the latter goal, instead of pretending their only concern is innocent bystanders. Regarding a recent proposal to tighten restrictions on smoking in San Francisco, for example, the director of the city's Department of Public Health said, "Tobacco remains the No. 1 cause of preventable death in the U.S.—period. It's government's responsibility to protect people from obvious risks." Another handy rationale: The very sight of smokers is a public health hazard, since they encourage other people (especially the children!) to follow their bad example. The outdoor smoking ban that took effect last week in Loma Linda, California, like a similar ban in Calabasas, is intended to "reduce the potential for children to associate smoking and tobacco with a healthy lifestyle" and "affirm and promote the family-friendly atmosphere of the City's public places."

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A Victory for German Smokers 

Cheers and whoops resounded in small bars around Germany Wednesday, as the country's highest court gave smokers cause to light up for a celebratory puff. In a nationally televised ruling on Wednesday, the Federal Constitutional Court ruled unconstitutional a ban on smoking in small bars, and forcing state legislators back to the drawing board in their efforts to protect public health. . . .

It remains questionable whether Germany's leaders have the political will to tighten bans on smoking. The court gave lawmakers until the end of 2009 to come up with new legislation. Until then, one-room bars of less than about 800 square feet can permit smoking, providing the under-18 are excluded, no food is served and a large sign outside warns non-smokers what awaits them.

While striking down the partial ban as discriminatory, presiding judge Hans-Jürgen Papier said the government was free to pass a total ban, since the protection of public health was paramount. But with a Federal election just 15 months away, it is unlikely that lawmakers will confront the country's formidable restaurant and tobacco lobby — or the nation's happy smokers.

At the Dudenschänke bar in Berlin's Kreuzberg district, adorned with ads for beer, chocolate and, of course, cigarettes, owner Erika Müller-König was ebullient.

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Berlin pubs force U-turn on smoking ban  

Anti-smoking laws have been dramatically watered down in Berlin in an attempt to protect smaller bars and pubs from being driven out of business, opening the prospect of the law being challenged throughout Germany.

In a ruling which smoking campaigners hope will set a precedent, the German Constitutional Court has ordered the government to re-draft a law which expelled smokers from bars and restaurants, or herded them into separate rooms.

After hearing complaints by small bar owners that the ban was wrecking their trade, the judges ruled that any single-room bar or pub smaller than 75 square metres should be allowed to waive the anti-smoking legislation on condition that under-18s are not admitted and no food is prepared.

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German court curbs smoking ban in bars 

Germany must ease its ban on smoking in bars, only months after it was introduced, following a ruling by the constitutional court, the country’s top legal body.

The Karlsruhe-based court ruled that a ban on smoking in small one-room bars in two German states – Berlin and Baden-Württemberg – was discriminatory because similar pubs that had extra rooms were legally allowed to provide one for smokers. Smokers should be permitted in one-room premises too, the court said, in a ruling that is likely to be adopted by other regional states.

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German High Court Strikes Down Smoking Ban in Pubs (Update1) 

Germany must lift smoking bans in small pubs, the top constitutional court ruled, dealing a blow to Chancellor Angela Merkel's attempts to bring German anti- smoking laws into line with other European countries.

Laws in the states of Baden-Wuerttemberg and Berlin that ban smoking in small pubs that don't have an extra room that can be designated for smokers are discriminatory, the Karlsruhe- based Federal Constitutional Court ruled today.

``Lawmakers could totally ban smoking in all bars and restaurants,'' the court said in an e-mailed statement. ``But if they decide to allow exceptions for some barkeepers, then these exceptions must also apply to small pubs which are most hit by the ban.''

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German court rejects smoking bans 

Germany's top court has ruled against smoking bans in small bars and clubs.

The Federal Constitutional Court upheld complaints against the bans in the city-state of Berlin and Baden-Wuerttemberg, in south-west Germany.

The two states are among 12 that introduced such bans at the start of the year. The court says they must now review their anti-smoking laws.

Smoking will now be allowed in one-room bars and clubs smaller than 75 sq m (807 sq ft), where no food is served.

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Germany's top court rejects two states' anti-smoking laws 

Germany's top court upheld complaints Wednesday against anti-tobacco laws in two states, in a ruling with broad implications for a country once seen as a smokers' paradise.

The Federal Constitutional Court said clauses of laws in the city-state of Berlin and the southwestern region in Baden-Wuerttemberg were unconstitutional because they threatened the livelihood of owners of small bars and clubs.

The six-to-two ruling means that customers in one-room bars and discotheques in the two states can keep lighting up until at least the end of 2009. . . .

Chief justice Hans-Juergen Papier made clear, however, that the court saw public health as more important than the right to smoke or run a bar and would rule accordingly in any further challenges to the laws.

"A general smoking ban in restaurants and taverns would have more protection under the constitution than the right to practise one's profession as a barkeeper or the freedom to smoke," he said.

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A general smoking ban in restaurants and taverns would have more protection under the constitution than the right to practise one's profession as a barkeeper or the freedom to smoke.
Federal Constitutional Court chief justice Hans-Juergen Papier.