Since the introduction of the public smoking ban, bars and restaurants across the country have been reporting decreased revenues, meanwhile the national German smoker's club, DRC has seen a surge in membership numbers. The DRC has around 600 member clubs, 200 of which signed on in the two weeks after smoking ban came into affect on July 1st. For €25, bars can buy a bright-yellow sign to indicate their DRC membership, and then set special private "club hours" for DRC members, who can register online for €9.95 per year.
Germany has dragged its feet compared to the rest of Europe in its attempts to enforce anti-tobacco legislation. Germany has stubbornly resisted European Union pressure to limit smoking, while other tobacco strongholds like Italy and France have put curbs in place. Germany has also agitated against international smoking regulations and defied EU rules on tobacco advertising.
"They're the bad boys of Europe," says Stanton Glantz, a researcher at the Center For Tobacco Control Research and Education at the University of California, San Francisco. "No other country has done as much to thwart restrictions."
The nation's politicians have long argued that strong curbs on tobacco place too much constraint on personal freedom - a message that has resonated here since Adolf Hitler tried to stomp out smoking. But industry documents show that the tobacco lobby has been fighting for years to keep Germany free of regulations. Though the documents were released in 1998 as part of Big Tobacco's settlement with American states, it took researchers years to comb through them and bring to light the extent of the lobby's influence in Germany.
Some thought the curbs in France and Italy would be tough to enforce, but Germany is proving even tougher, as one Kölner bar owner says “You can't compare Germany with other countries in Europe. We have a very special smoking culture. Smoking and bars – that belongs together here."
If you’re a staunch anti-smoker, avoid the smoking clubs if you want a smoke free beer/meal. If you’re not really bothered and still want to pop into your local even though its now a so called “Raucher Club” be warned – you’ll still have to pay a membership fee, even if you don’t smoke. Can this loophole really work for everyone?
