Death of another civilised, smoker-friendly nation
Friday, November 1, 2019 at 8:56 
As of today, Austria is the latest country to ban smoking in restaurants, cafes and bars.
The writing has been on the wall since the country’s coalition government fell apart earlier this year in the wake of a scandal involving a senior member of the far right Freedom Party.
Ironically, and somewhat uncomfortably for those of us of a more moderate political persuasion, it was the Freedom Party that had averted an impending smoking ban when it went into a coalition with the centre right People’s Party in December 2017.
However, the collapse of the coalition in May this year led to parliament reintroducing the ban and setting November 1 as the implementation date.
Although an election last month failed to give the People’s Party the majority it wanted, the Freedom Party share of the vote fell from 26 per cent to 16 per cent, putting it in third place, with little hope of sharing power.
On a personal level I’m sad that Austria has succumbed to the anti-smoking hysteria. In 2011 I visited Vienna and was hugely impressed by the coffee houses and restaurants that allowed patrons to smoke even while they were eating.
I remember in particular a superlative breakfast at the famous Cafe Landtmann with smokers on either side of me puffing away. As I wrote at the time:
We were sitting in what appeared to be the largest indoor area and as far I could tell there was an ashtray at every table allowing customers to eat, drink and smoke at the same time. A more civilised way to start the day I cannot imagine.
I genuinely meant that. I know smoking in restaurants is now frowned upon, even by many smokers, but there was something wonderfully liberating about sitting in this historic coffee house with its high ceilings and beautiful decor with people lighting up around me.
Cafe Landtmann’s claim to be an ‘open and vibrant hub of hospitality’ was no idle boast. It really felt like everyone was welcome because customers who wanted to eat and drink in a smoke free environment had the choice of a big no-smoking area too. Everyone, it seemed, had a choice.
And that appeared to be true throughout the city. For every establishment that allowed smoking there was a non-smoking bar or restaurant for those who didn’t want to be exposed to tobacco smoke.
Sadly, and despite the smoking ban being revoked in 2018, I realised things had changed for good when I checked the Cafe Landtmann website last year and discovered that the owners had unilaterally banned smoking indoors anyway.
A subsequent email from Forest to the proprietors asking them ‘to accommodate smokers inside the building so we can continue to recommend you as somewhere smokers (and non-smokers) should visit to get a true taste of Viennese hospitality and tolerance!’ was, inevitably, ignored.
The reason for Cafe Landtmann’s no smoking policy, introduced even when they didn’t have to, is not hard to guess - tourists. According to one report:
The coalition had thrown out an impending ban on smoking in bars and restaurants passed under the previous centrist government. The decision infuriated health campaigners and extended the bemusement of many tourists who expect nights out in picturesque Austria to be largely smoke-free.
And there you have it, one of many reasons why the world’s leading cities are increasingly becoming homogenised. Tourists (Americans in particular but other nationalities too) no longer want to be exposed to local culture. They want and expect the same environment they experience at home.
This is cultural colonialism but few politicians or proprietors object for fear of losing the tourists’ dollar. Meanwhile the locals just have to grin and bear it.
To be clear, long before today’s smoking ban smokers and non-smokers had a choice. Today that choice has been eradicated and in my view Austria is a poorer country for it. Much as I liked Vienna, there is now far less reason to go there.
But at least those non-smoking, health fascist tourists will be happy. Hallelujah!
Update: I have just remembered that in May 2008 Joe Jackson wrote a two-part 'Guide to Smoking in Europe' for our old Free Society website.
The site is no longer online but the articles were archived and here is what Joe had to say about Austria:
Austria is still a smoker's paradise. In Vienna - one of the world's most beautiful and civilised cities - you can smoke everywhere, and there are wonderfully inviting tobacconists on practically every corner, too. We went to a lively pub/restaurant which brewed its own excellent beer, and although more than half the customers were smoking (cigars and pipes, too) the ventilation was good enough that the air wasn't smoky at all. My bassist, who doesn't like smoke, was amazed, but I can hardly blame him. One of the many facts persistently buried by the antis is that it really isn't difficult, with existing technology, to make tobacco smoke in the air barely noticeable.
Antismokers don't talk much about Austria since, like Greece and Japan, it's a very heavy-smoking nation which is also very healthy and long-lived. It's also a nation where antismoking hysteria isn't really catching on. That doesn't mean a smoking ban can't happen, however. Ultimately, Austrian citizens, and even elected politicians, may well have no more choice in the matter than the Irish or Italians.
Sadly, he was right.
Reader Comments (8)
Just looked on their website and the cafe reminds me of Betty's (which I've been boycotting for several years since they don't allow smoking in their outdoor area).
Who would want to spend money in a country that says you are not welcome? Austria has a history of intolerance against minority groups, lest we forget.
Austrians love smoking. It is a very tolerant, smoker friendly nation. Cigarettes are very reasonably priced under the state monopoly and there is plenty of choice. I do not think Austrians would be prepared to tolerate what we do in the UK.
It is indeed sad to see another country succumb to the antismoking hysteria nurtured by tglobal tobacco control activists.
Once again the tobacco control plan of imposing smoking bans to denormalize smoking (and as a consequence smokers) is taking root and eradicating free choice and tolerance. The result of this activism is the persecution of smokers.
Hopefully this prohibitionist period will soon pass — especially when it becomes apparent that the claims of second hand smoke harm are based on lies.
Tobacco control's propaganda and lies must be exposed. Smoking bans must be modified to allow freedom of choice.
It will be interesting to see if Austrians will adhere to the ban. As we know the Greeks largely disregard theirs which just makes me love the country and it’s people even more. I really hope they do.
Indeed, TG. Much depends on how their ban legislation is worded and how much of a risk it is for a bar owner to breach the new rules, and indeed how high the fines are. I don’t think that there are many other countries in Europe whose fines are as high as ours are to landlords, which is why the ban had such a devastating effect on our hospitality industry whereas the effect has been less marked in some other countries because there are more establishment owners who know that they will lose more money through reduced customer numbers than they will from fines. Obviously, countries where more people smoke (e.g. Austria) this decision is easier for bar owners to make than in ones where the smoking rate is lower (e.g. the UK). It’s also possible that in a wider sense, such a ban in a high-smoking country like Austria might well give the Freedom Party a boost in votes, too. I know that if there was a party in this country which promised to relax or repeal the ban then I’d vote for it like a shot – and in fact I did, back in the days when UKIP were making such a promise and stood in my area. So the People’s Party, or whatever they’re called, may have shot themselves in the foot somewhat on this one, given the volatility of politics across large areas of Europe right now .....
As much as many here like (justly) criticising PMI, they have done a phenomenal job in pushing for IQOS use indoors. Not so much in the UK (I think they struggled in convincing businesses to go IQOS-friendly), but in Italy, Czech Republic, Ukraine and Russia, to name a few countries where there are indoor smoking bans in force, you don't have to look far at all to find a bar or restaurant where you can use IQOS indoors.
PMI pushes for promotion and acceptance of its new profitable product by abusing, insulting and supporting the hate campaign against its core consumers, therefore stigmatising and excluding them even more for no other reason than to make more money and that's a thing to be thankful for? Good grief. Only a vaper could say such a thing. No smoker would.
This is exactly why smokers will not help vapers to throw them under buses anymore.