Belgium: another one bites the dust
Sunday, May 1, 2011 at 17:06 On Thursday night I joined a dozen colleagues for dinner in a restaurant in Brussels.
The evening began with pre-dinner drinks in a designated smoking room that felt more like the drawing room of a small country house. Guests lit up, staff wandered in and out serving drinks, and all was well with the world.
From July this little oasis will be lost when Belgium extends its smoking ban to remove most of the exemptions that were included in the 2007 legislation.
The decision to introduce a comprehensive ban immediately (instead of waiting for the exemptions to be phased out by January 2014) was made in March when Constitutional Court judges ruled that "drawing distinctions between establishments was actually harmful to competition".
In other words, the exemptions that allowed bars and restaurants to have separate smoking rooms are being removed not to 'protect' public health but to create a level playing field. Choice, it seems, is anti-competitive.
Unlike Britain, though, smoking will still be permitted in restaurants and other public buildings (including offices) with special smoking rooms equipped with decent ventilation. Nothing to celebrate, but better than here where even that tiny exemption is outlawed.
See also: Belgium expands smoking ban to all cafes, casinos (Independent), Belgian barkeepers demonstrate against smoking ban (Yahoo) and Reflections on a 'non-country' (Dick Puddlecote)
Hungary 'fell' earlier this week. See here.
Reader Comments (2)
The "level playing field" argument always amazes me. What they are actually saying is, "But people don't want to come to non-smoking venues. Given they choice they'll go to smoking venues! That's why all places should be smokefree."
The fact they have to be forced on people somewhat goes against their argument that bans are popular, well-loved and part of a natural social change, doesn't it?
I've always said, if they REALLY want to know why pubs are closing, remove the ban in an area like they did when they stopped hassling people for cannabis use in Brixton, then see what happens to the hospitality trade, the litter, the noise pollution and the pub closures in that area. But of course they won't do that as they KNOW what will happen. Cheap supermarket booze, the recession etc - all red herrings. Just look at those pubs that briefly became "research centres" - in the 7 days they allowed smoking their trade increased five fold! I can't believe that some people can keep a straight face when they say the smoking ban is not to blame.
Will there be 'special smoking rooms' in bars ?