[Headlines Only] [Top Stories Only]
Categories
· Smokefree Policies
· Dining/Entertainment
· Shelters/Lounges
non-USA, by Country
· Netherlands

• Bar owners face fine for flouting Dutch smoking ban  

Jump to full article: Agence France Presse (AFP) (fr), 2009-02-07

Intro:

THE HAGUE - Brothers Gerhard and Ronald Sannes, owners of Cafe de Kachel in Groningen in the north of the country, appeared before a district court in the same city where they admitted one count of contravening the oft-flouted law.

"We asked for a fine of 1,200 euros and a probation period of one year, during which time the bar will be closed for a month for any further contravention," prosecution spokeswoman Kerstin Smit told AFP.

The bar had been caught contravening the ban on six occasions, she said.

Gerhard Sannes told AFP the ban, which came into effect last July, created an unfair competition advantage for bigger establishments.

"We have a small bar with no extra space in which to build a smoking section.

Jump to full article »