Jump to full article: Agence France Presse (AFP) (fr), 2009-09-11
Intro: The Dutch government vowed Friday to change the law to keep bars smoke free after it suffered two successive defeats in court against bar owners challenging a smoking ban.
A cabinet statement said the government would introduce changes to legislation in order to make sure that "a uniform obligation" applied to all.
Dutch bar owners won two victories earlier this year in their fight against a smoking ban on their premises.
Two different courts found that the law, aimed at protecting staff from second-hand smoke inhalation, unfairly discriminated against small, one-man operations . . .
The cabinet said the planned changes would make allowances for the introduction of "innovative air sytstems" if they could be proven effective enough to be an alternative to a dedicated smoking area in small bars.
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