German states edge towards limited smoking ban

HANOVER, Germany, Feb 24 (Reuters) Germany's federal states agreed to outlaw smoking in public buildings but stopped short of a blanket ban in pubs and restaurants as introduced in a number of other European countries.

The tentative agreement, which the country's 16 state premiers must still approve, came yesterday after months of wrangling and in the face of strong resistance from the powerful German tobacco lobby.

Almost a third of the German population smokes and federal government attempts to introduce a nationwide smoking ban in public places collapsed last December.

In future, smoking will be outlawed in schools, hospitals and buildings used for leisure and cultural purposes, said state representatives after a meeting in the northern German city of Hanover. Smokers will be allowed to indulge in designated rooms in pubs and restaurants.

''Today we are seeing a quantum leap for health protection in Germany, it is long overdue,'' said federal Consumer Affairs Minister Horst Seehofer. ''It is a necessary step because there is no substance in a room more poisonous to health than smoke.'' However, the northern states of Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia are seeking exemptions to the plans which would allow some pubs to allow unlimited smoking.

Germany's federal cabinet agreed in December to outlaw smoking in government buildings and on public transport but abandoned more ambitious plans to include pubs and restaurants, citing possible legal problems.

Nearly 140,000 Germans die each year from tobacco-related illnesses but the government has little financial incentive to crack down as it collects about 15 billion euros a year in tobacco tax.

American Cynthia Barcomi, who says business has boomed at her Berlin deli and cafe since she decided to introduce smoking bans last year, condemned Germany's slow progress on the issue.

''I think it's really cowardly,'' she told Reuters. ''How much more information do they need about the dangers of passive smoking? Does the rest of the world have to ban smoking before Germany does it?'' England is to implement a smoking ban in workplaces and enclosed public spaces after similar decisions in Italy, France and Spain.

In Germany, however, where lighting up became a cherished post-war mark of freedom and tolerance after a smoking crack down by Hitler's Nazi regime in the 1930s, there has been a reluctance to force through a ban.

State premiers will take a final decision on March 22.

REUTERS SSC KN0835