(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Many Austrians disagree with enacting a full prohibition on smoking in restaurants and other establishments were food is served, according to a poll by OGM. 50 per cent of respondents oppose a ban, while 42 per cent support it.

Tobacco is considered as the largest cause of avoidable death in the European Union (EU), with more than 500,000 fatalities reported each year in the 25 member nations. The EU estimates that 25 per cent of all cancer deaths—and 15 per cent of all fatalities—could be attributed to smoking.

In early 2006, the Austrian Chamber of Doctors called for a ban on smoking in restaurants and bars, but the federal government rejected it. Austrian law, updated in 2003, prohibits smoking in public buildings and transit vehicles, but not at the workplace.

On Jan. 15, Kitzbuehel Tourism Association chief Christian Harisch expressed support for a complete ban on smoking in Austrian gastronomic establishments, saying that the country has to portray itself as healthy and not as "Europe’s smoking paradise." Harisch said a proposal put forward by the Health Ministry to allow owners of establishments with fewer than 75 square metres to decide whether they would be smoking or non-smoking was "complete nonsense."

Polling Data

Do you support or oppose a total ban on smoking in gastronomic establishments?

Source: OGM
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 500 Austrian adults, conducted in January 2008. Margin of error is 4.5 per cent.

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