Smoking in Austria: Does the EU template also come up here?

Smoking in Austria: Does the EU template also come up here?

Brüssel, Belgien - The discussion about a comprehensive ban on smoking in the EU takes shape. Health Minister Johannes Rauch (Greens) defended the planned EU recommendation on Tuesday in the run-up to a meeting of the EU Health Minister in Brussels. This recommendation stipulates that smoking in places that are particularly suitable for children - such as playgrounds, schools and in the vicinity of restaurants. According to Rauch, this is only a recommendation that the EU member states will decide with a qualified majority in the coming week. While there are already smoke -free zones in many countries, Rauch emphasizes that Austria has already implemented some of the planned measures. For a clear regulation in Austria, he also proposes a ban on smoking on children's playgrounds, which is not yet in force due to the resistance of the ÖVP, so reports krone.at .

resistance to EU plan

However, the EU ambitions go even further. A proposal to expand smoking bans to practically all public locations, including parks, shop openings and even Christmas markets, ensures violent controversy, such as Freie Presse . Not only medical organizations support this approach, but also numerous EU MPs. Their goal is to reduce the smoking rate in the EU to less than five percent by 2040 and create a "tobacco -free generation". However, critics, such as the Federation of Taxpayers, fear economic losses for the gastronomy and throw the EU to act over -regulating.

Especially in Germany, where around 70 billion cigarettes are consumed every year, the pressure on smokers will increase. Comments from Saxony emphasize that it is time to carefully weigh the health risks in public. The Saxon Ministry of Social Affairs has also emphasized that it is against excessive regulation and plans to issue its own regulations only for a selection, for example for children's playgrounds. In the future, the discussion about the ban on smoking will continue on both political and social levels.