Germany Rejects Total Smoking Ban

David Savona
Posted: December 21, 2006

Europe's largest cigar market, Germany, scuttled plans to ban smoking throughout the country in mid-December and has drafted plans to eliminate smoking in just a few places.

The federal government originally planned to ban smoking in restaurants and most public buildings. The new move will ban smoking in federal buildings—where it is already largely prohibited—and on public transportation, according to DW-World.de.

Germany has found itself at odds with its European Community neighbors over its pro-smoking views: in June, the European Commission said it would sue the German government over its refusal to ban tobacco advertising. German publications have reported that many older Germans view smoking bans with particular disdain because the Nazis banned smoking some six decades ago.

Photo by Michelangelo Gratton/ Corbis