Dutch smoking ban is up in the air
12 May 2009
The appeals court in Den Bosch has ruled in favour of the owners of a Breda cafe who defied a national smoking ban, effectively repealing the smoking ban for small bars and cafes.
The court ruled that the national smoking ban lacks the legal basis to impose the ban on small establishments without hired staff, which is the case for cafe Victoria in Breda. The ruling means that smoking is allowed again in all small cafes and bars where the owners are the only staff.
A ban on smoking in bars in the Netherlands came into effect on July 1, 2008, in line with a European trend to prohibit smoking in public places. The legal reasoning behind the Dutch ban was that employees have to be protected from the health effects of secondhand smoke.
The Dutch law allows cafes to have designated, closed-off smoking areas without service. But cafes too small to create such rooms have since argued that this puts them at an unfair disadvantage. Research has shown that turnover in smaller bars and cafes has dropped by thirty percent since the smoking ban was introduced. A number of cafes, including Victoria in Breda, have openly defied the ban by allowing their customers to light up as before.
Now that the judge in Den Bosch has ruled in favour of Victoria's owners, small cafes around the country can technically allow smoking again.
The health ministry said it was withholding its response until the appeals court in Leeuwarden rules on a similar case in Groningen. A judge in Groningen ruled against the owners of cafe De Kachel, who had also defied the smoking ban. The cafe owners appealed the Groningen verdict with a higher court in Leeuwarden.
The judge in Den Bosh argued that the smoking ban was a specific measure against nuisance from smoking, but that other less radical measures are possible. In April, a lower court in Breda ruled in favour of a collective of the Breda cafe owners, but in that case the ruling was based on the distortion of competition with larger establishments.
The health ministry appealed that verdict, demanding a 1,200 euros fine and the closing of the establishments. But the ministry now says it will not appeal further if it loses in the Leeuwarden court too. "In that case the minister will look into changing the existing law," a spokesperson said.
Source
Dutch smoking ban is up in the air
It's a load of bullshit in the first place.
As Toker says, thank god for common sense.
Well if you're worried about second hand smoke, don't work at a fucking coffeeshop!! It should be up to the establishment owner to decide whether he wants smoking on his own premises. Nobody forces people to work at these places.The legal reasoning behind the Dutch ban was that employees have to be protected from the health effects of secondhand smoke.
As Toker says, thank god for common sense.
This is definitely some good news to here, as much as I prefer smoking with out tobacco it still can be annoying if you are running out of the good stuff and need to pad out. Especially as this also helped the popularity of coffee shops as well.
http://www.CoffeeshopsRated.com - We have rated over 50 Coffeeshops now!!