Germany: Catering Sales Rise Despite Anti-Smoking Laws..

April 16, 2011
Germany has sixteen states (Laender), as follows:

1. Berlin (city state)
2. Hamburg (city state)
3. Bremen (city state)
4. Brandenburg - capital: Potsdam
5. Bayern (Bavaria) - capital: Munich
6. Baden-Württemberg - capital: Stuttgart
7. Hessen (Hesse) - capital: Wiesbaden
8. Nordrhein-Westfalen (North Rhine Westphalia) - capital: Düsseldorf
9. Rheinland-Pfalz (Rhineland Palatinate) - capital: Mainz
10. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern - capital: Schwerin
11. Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony) - capital: Hanover
12. Saarland - capital: Saarbrücken
13. Sachsen (Saxony) - capital: Dresden
14. Sachsen-Anhalt (Saxony Anhalt) - capital: Magdeburg
15. Schleswig-Holstein - capital: Kiel
16. Thüringen (Thuringia) - capital: Erfurt

The first three are city states and have a somewhat different constitution from the others.

Contrary to claims by breweries, the catering industry and tobacco firms, the imposition of smoking bans in German states has not dampened sales. The southern state of Bavaria, for example — which has the strongest anti-smoking laws in Germany — has seen catering industry sales rise by 1.5 percent in the second half of 2010, versus the same period a year earlier. In contrast, bars and restaurants in North Rhine-Westphalia, the German state with a range of means exempting smokers from bans, has seen its catering trade income sink by 3.1 percent in the same time span.

The prevalence of loopholes in North Rhine-Westphalia is illustrated by the city of Essen, where only a third of its 362 bars are smoke free. Many of the bars and cafes have found ways to sidestep the smoking ban, for example by forming so-called smoking clubs.

Germany and ‘Smoke-Free Europe’

Barbara Steffens, of the Green Party, who is the state health minister in North Rhine-Westphalia, wants to tighten her region’s lax smoking laws — prompting an outcry from the beer industry. But the reality of the regional sales figures contradict the oft-repeated fear that businesses will suffer if punters are not allowed to light up.

Germany’s smoking bans have long been a patchwork affair with individual states determining regional measures. The result has been that many bars manage to keep their doors open to smokers. Six months ago, European Union Commissioner for Health and Consumer Policy John Dalli of Malta called for new rules that would help bring about his goal of a ” smoke-free Europe.” (European Union - commission wants no exceptions to smoking bans..)

According to a ranking list released in March by the Association of European Cancer Leagues, the Tobacco Control Scale 2010 shows that Germany lags many of its European neighbors on the basis of its tobacco taxes, smoking and advertising bans. (The Tobacco Control Scale 2010 in Europe Luk Joossens Martin Raw)

Reference: Catering Sales Rise Despite Anti-Smoking Laws:smoking-quit.info, 4/14/2011.

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Germany - tobacco tax to increase incrementally over next 5-years..;
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Bavaria, Germany - Oktoberfest to be smokefree but not this year..;
Study - the more teens see cigarette ads, the greater the risk of taking a puff..;
Germany - Bavaria referendum on smoking in cafés and beer halls on July 4, 2010..;
Germany - losing billions as smokers find cheaper places to buy cigarettes..;
Germany - smokers smoking less but it's costing more..;
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Bavaria - court rules, looser implementation of smoking ban constitutional..;
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WHO Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic 2008..;
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