Relaxation of the smoking ban - Munich

Working to the slogan "Leben und leben lassen" (live and let live – this in a country that bans you from washing your car on a Sunday), the powers that be have buckled to the pressure for smoking to be allowed in pubs and clubs again. The new regulations make the original mess of a law seem perfectly sane and well-thought out:

• Smoking will be allowed in all pubs under 75 m², unless they serve food, in which case smoking won't be allowed, unless the food is only "cold or easily-prepared food", in which case smoking will be allowed. Children won't be allowed in, because obviously only children are affected by second-hand smoke.
  
• Smoking will be allowed in the "Nebenraum" of larger pubs, without describing what a "Nebenraum" is, and apparently regardless of whether the food served is easily prepared or is somewhat more complicated to prepare, or whether it is hot or merely luke-warm.
  
• Smoking will continue to be banned in airports, public buildings and – genuine shock here – schools.
  
• Smoking clubs will now be "superfluous", although this doesn't actually mean "banned" as far as I can see; if they are banned, then many larger pubs and clubs will find themselves in the strange situation of having less smoking space than before.
  

The government claims that it is sticking with the commitment to improve health, although fail to explain how encouraging smoking will improve the health of the nation.

This is all a bit of a bummer, but the good news is that it's only for a few years. The EU is already working on a complete smoking ban to be imposed on the handful of countries yet to see the light for themselves. It's still pretty breathtaking to watch a supposedly forward-thinking regime take such a massive step backwards.

Article from Zeit.de: Rauchverbot: Bayern: Qualmen in kleinen Kneipen wieder erlaubt

That Schweinsbraten doesn't count as an easily-prepared meal made me grin.

Hopefully one day Germany will realise that making laws that actually work is a good thing. Because this just sounds like even more mumbo-jumbo.

Ah, perfect. Puff.

sanity coming back into fashion

So it's back to walking around in a stinky jumper. The smoke in the pubs won't improve that, either.

Well, surely the smoking ban stopped nobody smoking really, but did send the message that healthy non-smokers could now go out and happily develop massive alcohol problems, in a smoke free environment.

So they're going to replace all the smoking clubs... with smoking clubs?

http://www.abendzeitung.de/nachrichten/landtag/80934

This is the bit I liked best:

Otto Bertermann, the FDP guy who worked on the agreement with the CSU to change the laws, now says that he's changed his mind, and that the majority of the population doesn't want a new law.

So finally owners can decide for themselves whether or not to permit smoking. I know a couple of restaurant owners who will continue to ban smoking in the restaurant but who will welcome the possibility of allowing smokers to gas themselves in an extra room...

Wow Germany gives business owners a choice of serving their markets shock horror!

Is the law cold food as it comes out of the oven or when it finaly lands on my table?

No, it's the Brotzeit concept:
Wiener with a bread roll & mustard = ok
Steak au poivre = probably not
Chips/fries = possible
Würstsalat = yes

Now the fryer question is an interesting one: how easy is it to cook chips/fries?
Does a pre-breaded frozen Schnitzel cooked in a deep fat fryer count as simple, but a hand-dipped Schnitzel pan-fried then served with sauce doesn't?
So yes, it's even more bollocks than before.

What happens with the beer tents at the Oktoberfest? Will they be allowing smoking?

Wiesn tents (and other Festzelten) will allow smoking, see the AZ link higher in the thread.

So all you have to do is insit on hand made ketchup and you can then sue the arse off the pommes-büde?

Does adding "curry" to ketchup make the process more complicated? It's a minefield, I tells ya.

Curry powder? Or a real powder mix made out of cumin, corriander, tumeric and chilli? And the with seeds in a grinder? (Smiles as I won a bet against the oh so much culinary better germans on this subject...)

Does this mean Aldi will now sell out of there ready made rubbish?