Smoking's last gasp: Haven in Germany

Smoking's last gasp: Haven in Germany
By Judy Dempsey. Copyright by The International Herald Tribune
Published: June 16, 2006


BERLIN When Vincent Maher arrived in Germany last week for the football World Cup, it was like returning to a bygone age. Except Maher, a 32-year- old Irishman, could not decide if he was rediscovering paradise or succumbing to sheer temptation.

"It's the way they smoke here," said Maher, who had quit smoking after the Irish government last year banned the weed in all public places, including the favorite haunt of the Irish, the pub. This year, Britain joined Ireland, Italy, Norway, Malta, Sweden, Belgium, Macedonia, Spain and the Czech Republic in banning smoking in public places.

But Germany remains an anomaly.

For a country that prides itself on protecting the environment and maintaining high standards for consumers, particularly in health and food, smoking is surprisingly widespread and tolerated, even in the workplace. An estimated 20 million, or nearly a quarter of the population, burned 160 billion cigarettes in 2004, according to British American Tobacco, which holds a 23 percent share of the German market.

And even though Germans are often obsessed with their well-being and the spiraling costs of the health system, more than 140,000 of them die each year from tobacco-related illnesses, according to the American Journal of Public Health. The German Cancer Research Center said Friday that 3,300 more die each year because of passive smoke-related diseases.
Vivil Haraldsen, 32, from Norway, said she found it difficult to understand why Germans tolerated so much smoking in restaurants and public places while at the same time being so health conscious.

"Germany should be leading the campaign to ban smoking in public places but it isn't," Haraldsen said. "Actually, the smoking in the public places is quite unpleasant."

Other fans have been surprised at the widespread advertising of cigarettes in public spaces.

"I find it particularly strange that in the cinema in Germany, there is advertising for smoking and that smoking is always linked with sex," said Kristian Larsen, 28, from Denmark. "This would not happen in Denmark."

This may change, but only slowly, after the advocate general of the European Court of Justice this week recommended that a German complaint against banning tobacco advertising in newspapers, television and the Internet be dismissed. Germany's tobacco industry had lobbied hard against the ban, which was introduced in 1998.

Maher, a computer programmer, is struck by the German attitudes. "To think you can go into any pub or café or restaurant in Germany and smoke is, sort of, out of time with changing attitudes in rest of the EU," Maher said. "It seems to me that if you don't smoke here you are a loser in the sense that there are few nonsmoking places. If they exist, you inhale the stuff anyway because the nonsmoking areas are too small and too close to the smokers' tables."

Health experts said the reason Germany has lagged far behind its European counterparts is because of the very close relationship between the tobacco industry and nearly all political parties.

Martina Pötschke-Langer, director of the Cancer Prevention Unit at the German Cancer Research Institute in Heidelberg, said that the tobacco industry in Germany spends €300 million, or about $375 million, each year on advertising and lobbying.
"The industry works particularly closely with the political parties through sponsoring events, for example," Pötschke-Langer said Friday. "It seems to be worth it. In Germany, the industry earns €20 billion per year."

Indeed, Philip Morris, the giant U.S. tobacco company, has for years been sponsoring conferences of Merkel's governing conservative bloc, as well as her coalition partner, the Social Democrats, and the opposition, pro-business Free Democrats. Even the Greens had one congress sponsored by Philip Morris but broke with the company after fierce protests from delegates.

At the party congresses, the company lavishly entertains politicians and journalists in the press lounge with free food and beverages. A spokeswoman for Philip Morris denied Friday that sponsoring the press lounge had anything to do with sponsoring a party. "The two are quite distinct," she said.

The tobacco companies are active on the streets as well. As well as giant advertising posters, they have cigarette vending machines rarely seen in other European countries. Until recently, you could buy the cigarettes with coins. Under pressure from anti-smoking and health groups, beginning next year you have to punch in a credit card number. And since credit cards are available only to those 16 or older, the Health Ministry said that represents major progress in restricting access by young teenagers.

But Pötschke-Langer said the ruling was a joke. "Any kid can still get the cigarettes through his or her friends. This is about the tobacco industry trying to pretend it is making a good impression. The machines should simply be abolished."
In a voluntary agreement with the government, the German Hotel and Restaurant Association has promised to create nonsmoking areas in most bars, cafés and restaurants until 2008, but health experts said the industry so far has made little effort.

Karl Lauterbach, a legislator and health expert for the Social Democratic Party said, "I don't believe in a million years that restaurants will create smoking and nonsmoking areas of their own accord," he said.

Ulf Bauer, British American Tobacco's spokesman for Germany, said, "Call it paradise for some smokers, or whatever, I guess we are still more liberal than other European countries. Germany is more reasonable than other countries"