No Smoking Bitte!

Most people like to think of the Germans as being super efficient. However the simple introduction of a no-smoking ban in restaurants and pubs (which in the UK happened pretty quickly back in 2007) proved to be a burocratic disaster. The main problem was that each German state (eg. Bavaria) was able to decide when and how the smoking ban would be introduced.

In Bavaria (where I now live) when the ban was introduced pubs and restaurants were able to still allow smoking by providing a sealed room where smokers could go. Then smaller venues (ie. with one room less than 50 square meters in size,) complained. Smoking was then allowed again in these venues. Smoking was also allowed in private member pubs & clubs (many pubs then simply asked for a signature before you entered). There was also exception to allow permission to allow people to smoke in tents - so that those who went to the Oktoberfest in Munich could still smoke like chimneys! In Bavaria it finally took a referendum to eventually introduce a full ban in pubs and bars.

To put it mildly the introduction of the ban was a farce - and that was just in Bavaria! The other states had and continue to have issues too. In fact in each state there are still different rules and exceptions. A unified country wide ban is still nowhere in sight! So much for german efficiency! ;-)