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from the all-those-in-favour,-please-cough dept.
Austria has one of the highest rates of smoking and youth smoking among high income countries, and that might not be changing anytime soon:
Many Western countries have banned smoking in bars and restaurants, but Austria is bucking that trend. Under a law passed in 2015, Austria was due to bring in a total ban this May, but now its new government of the conservatives and the far-right Freedom Party have scrapped the plans.
The move was spearheaded by the leader of the Freedom Party, Austria's Vice Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache, himself a smoker, who told parliament last month that it was about freedom of choice. He said restaurants should be free to decide if they want to have smoking sections, where "a citizen has the possibility to decide perhaps to enjoy a cigarette or a pipe or a cigar with their coffee".
The move has horrified Austria's medical establishment. Dr Manfred Neuberger, professor emeritus at the Medical University of Vienna, says it is "a public health disaster".
"The decision is irresponsible. It was a victory for the tobacco industry. The new government made Austria into the ashtray of Europe."
Meanwhile, the country is considering buying more jet fighters, recruiting more police, defunding its public broadcaster, and examining its past.
(Score: 2) by VanessaE on Saturday February 17 2018, @02:10AM (3 children)
...and your statement is an order of magnitude worse. Air compressors may be a bit noisy, but they don't generally pollute or cause breathing problems, cancer, or other maladies for those nearby but not using them. Cigarettes can and do.
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Saturday February 17 2018, @04:15AM (2 children)
No, they steal air you don't own. You can lead a noob to water but you can't make them think.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 17 2018, @02:58PM (1 child)
I never knew you were such a lowly capitalism troll fanboi.
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Saturday February 17 2018, @07:01PM
You must be new here.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.