“This broad acceptance of non-smoker protection in the catering industry is mainly due to a change of attitude among smokers," says Dr. Martina Pötschke-Langer, head of DKFZ’s Cancer Prevention Unit. “When non-smoker protection laws came into force in the German states in 2007, only 30 percent of smokers supported smoke-free catering establishments. By 2013, this percentage has increased to 59 percent, or almost doubled."
For years now, the vast majority of non-smokers have supported a ban on smoking in the catering industry. The rate of non-smokers approving such a ban has remained unchanged at 93 percent. A constant majority of former smokers have also favored the ban; currently eighty-nine percent are in favor of it.
The most recent representative survey among 2,000 Germans over 16 years of age, which the Society for Consumer Research (Gesellschaft für Konsumforschung, GfK) carried out under a commission by the DKFZ, also includes the participants’ political party preferences. With German general elections to be held in the immediate future, this is of particular relevance: Supporters of a smoke-free catering industry form the majority of voters of all parties represented in the German Bundestag, The highest increase in acceptance is observed among followers of the Social Democratic Party (SPD). The approval rates among voters of the various parties are: Green Party (Die Grünen) – 88.5%; Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU) – 83.5%; Social Democratic Party (SPD) – 83.1%; The Left (Die Linke) – 82.5%; Free Democratic Party (FDP) – 77.0%.
A handful of beverage establishment owners in North Rhine-Westphalia are currently mounting protests, in some cases somewhat aggressive, in an effort to get the state government to loosen non-smoker protection. “The survey results show that loud pro-smoking groups are in conflict with the interests of the vast majority of the population," says Martina Pötschke-Langer. At the time of the survey in February 2013, the tobacco lobby was carrying out a massive campaign in North Rhine-Westphalia to oppose the introduction of the non-smoker protection act in Germany’s largest federal state. The campaign failed and has apparently made no impression on the majority of the population.
The study (in German) can be obtained from the Division of Cancer Prevention (who-cc@dkfz.de) and is available for download at:
AdWfdP-Rauchfreie-Gaststaetten-2013.pdf