In a referendum on Sunday, Bavarian voters ended the dithering and doubt about smoking in their state with a decisive "yes" to banning it completely in in all public buildings. The previous strict law had been weakened by political in fighting and dubious avoidance by some pubs, as well as single room exceptions. All these have been swept away.Over three million voters participated in the referendum, with 61 percent voting in favour of the ban. The citizens' initiative "for real protection of non-smokers" will impose a total smoking ban on all clubs, bars, restaurants, cafes and beer tents from 1st August.
As someone who goes to Bavaria a lot, I welcome this and look forward even more to my trip later this year. Whether it will be welcomed quite as much in the filthy "Raucherclubs" is a different matter, but the state has already said it will enforce the law from day one. The sting in the tail is that the Association of Private Breweries announced that it will mean price rises due to the cost of enforcement, particularly in beer tents. "The citizen must pay for it through higher beer and food prices" they said.
It seems though this year's Oktoberfest will be exempt and smoking will be allowed for the last time.
Hasn't minorities being repressed and persecuted been a popular theme in Bavaria in the past?
ReplyDeleteClutching at straws there I'd say.
ReplyDeleteWhen we were over in Munich, the only time I saw a NEIN! was on the fag machines in the beer gardens.
ReplyDelete@Freedom Lover : I take it you're referring to the fact that Sc**nt*l*g*sts are not allowed to be employed in Bavarian public administrations any more ?
ReplyDeleteDo be careful here TM - last time you mentioned smoking and bans in the same posting all of the crazies came out to play.
ReplyDeleteI know. I've already rattled Mudgie's cage over this subject on his blog, but sometimes you got to call it as you see it and in my defence, this piece is in keeping with my giving out the odd bit of German news.
ReplyDeleteGreat exchange between you and the Curmudgeon fellow. If you can find it in you, write a track about him and his love of cigarette smoke in pubs. Sing it in the style of The Proclaimers. Maybe I should?? Maybe something with a Deep Purple tinge???
ReplyDeleteCurmudgeon is hormonally not right somewhere. When he mentioned he was going to ban you over lies, I literally almost fell out of my chair. Well done, good exchange.
I think he maybe mixes the word " fallacious" with "mendacious"? Either way it was meant in its meaning (in the context I used it)as having no cogency or legal force; "invalid reasoning";"based on the wrong assumptions"
ReplyDeleteThere is another less used definition. That is; deceptive or fraudulent; disposed to cheat or defraud or deceive. I didn't mean it in that way. Mudgie believes what he says. That's why its the first meaning, not the second.
At least it livened it up for you!
Footnote. Curmudgeon has removed me from his blog list.
ReplyDeleteUp to him, but he is still welcome here.
FOUND: TOYS AND STILL WET DUMMY ON SIDE OF ROAD IN STOCKPORT etc
ReplyDeleteGuess that's Mudgie's retirement home in Germany gone up in smoke. Or rather not.
ReplyDeleteGreat! My first trip to Bavaria this week just in time to fill my lungs with my fellow drinkers' tobacco fumes as they puff on their last fag in public.
ReplyDeleteSince my smoke-filled local was transformed following the ban here, I seem to have become more sensitive/intolerant of their smelly habit. Ah well, guess I'll just have to find a breezy corner of a large beergarden.
Re: "fallacious" - my objection was not that Tandleman accused me of fallacious reasoning, but that he added "and you know it", thus implying I was deliberately advancing what I knew to be a fallacious argument.
ReplyDeleteAnd there are loads of places you can obtain an RSS feed of "beer blog" updates, so I don't see why I should give room to people who are insulting towards me.
Haha, he's taken me off his blogroll, too, which is good, as I don't want his nutjob pals coming to my site.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of accessing blogs - I can't access Tysons now - seem site's invitation only and I've not been invited to the party. What on earth is going on there?
ReplyDeleteNor me. Tyson has been ill which I only found out on Saturday. I've emailed him and will ring him later to see how he is. I assume he has taken it down in the meantime.
ReplyDeleteJC
ReplyDeleteNothing personal. Just some downtime whilst it was given a lick of paint.
Figures you'd wait til I was away on holiday to report this. The ja vote in my town of 100,000+ souls was over 73% (!), though it's also a town where about 25% of das Volk are medical students & professors or engineers for Siemens Medical.
ReplyDeletePity that the pubs and beer here blow ass though.