Public Health: Geneva café owners fume over smoking ban
Last year, the government of the Geneva Canton banned smoking in restaurants, bars and cafés. The Tabacs rebelled, the federal government has criticised - and now a referendum threatens to overturn much of the ban before it comes into force.
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In February 2008, a whopping 79% of Genevese voted to ban smoking in public places. So in September 2008, the government did so.
But café owners rounded up their pro-smoking customers and raised the support of the Swiss federal government. The federal government said that the total ban went too far, and that smoking should be allowed in traditional "tabacs" - cafés that are, generally, quite small. But the definition of quite small is not exactly tiny: less than 80 square metres.
Needing 7,000 signatures to force a review of the new law, the tabac owners got 12,000.
And now, they are seeking to gain, by referendum, a ruling that the law be overturned, at least in part.
But it is not all plain sailing: a counter-blow is being prepared by an anti-smoking pharmacist. He is gathering votes to vote down the referendum promoted by the tabacs. If he does so, then the smoking ban will come into force as presently planned.
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