Jump to full article: Agence France Presse (AFP) (fr), 2008-12-30
Intro: Austria will introduce a partial smoking ban in bars and restaurants on January 1, 2009, but with half measures and special allowances, critics are doubtful it will make much difference to existing habits.
Under the new law, which was rushed through parliament just before it was dissolved in July ahead of snap elections, establishments under 50 square metres (540 square feet) will be able to choose whether to accept smokers or not.
And two thirds of pubs, clubs and cafes have said they will continue to allow smoking, according to the latest survey by the Austrian chamber of commerce (WKOe).
Bigger establishments that do not wish to become entirely smoke-free will have to turn at least 50 percent of their surface into protected no-smoking areas. . . .
"The Austrian smoking ban won't work because it's almost not a smoking ban, except that businesses have to spend a lot of money on making these partitions," noted Sylvia Hartl, a pulmonary disease specialist at Vienna's Otto Wagner hospital.
"Examples from abroad show that a general ban is the way to go,"
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