McDonald's Germany to go totally non-smoking

From the end of March 2007 all branches of McDonald's restaurants in Germany will be entirely non-smoking.

McDonald's say that this is in order to protect their customers, many of whom are children, and to make the restaurants truly family-friendly.

There are over 1,260 McDonald's restaurants throughout Germany. Already more than 400 of them are completely non-smoking. The remainder mostly have separate smoking and non-smoking areas.

See Tuesday's press release given by the McDonalds German headquarters in Munich: McDonald’s führt Rauchverbot ein (24.Oct.2006)

By the way, the first German McDonald's restaurant opened on 4th December 1971 at Martin-Luther-Straße 26 in Munich-Giesing. That branch still exists today.

Smoking vs. non-smoking restaurants in Germany is always an emotive topic on this chat forum. See the previous lengthy discussions: no general ban on smoking in restaurants planned (14 pages), ban on smoking in public and tobacco advertising (10 pages).

To be honest neither I nor my kids have ever been disturbed or annoyed by somebody smoking in a McDonald's. A very odd decision especially considering Maccy D's is a magnet for the after beers munchie crowd. I personally would have banned smoking until 8pm - when most kids, unless they have ASBO parents, should be at home - therefore not alienating smoking pissheads who went on an after work bender.

Bit of a waste of time really since the kids will die of heart disease in anycase!

Yes but heart disease is probably faster and cheaper than cancer, so it's all good.

Smoking actually contributes to heart disease too. I would hazard a McD a day would kill faster than a pack a day though.

I can see Starbucks doing the same if they have not done so already.

Plus there is the added danger of the cardboard getting stuck in your throat, the cellophane blocking the windpipe or the silver paper playiing havoc with your fillings.

Passive smoking kills. But the good thing about the smell of cigarette smoke in McD's was that it distracted me from the taste of the food.

They sell food in McDonald's now?

Pisses me off that people think kids have more rights to clean air than adults do.

Especially seeing as the air down low is probably cleaner anyway and they also get let into the bouncy castle thing and I don't.

So I think a sit down and eat in protest is in order. Oh, and you can smoke 'em if you've got 'em as well.

They tried this once before. IIRC. Didn't last long. Yes - kids have more rights to clean air, especially since they normally do not have a lot of say in where their adults take them. Adults can pick their locations and restaurants themselves.

Why don't you just deep fry the cigs - two birds with one stone and all that.

Fag fries. Cancer McNuggets. McNicoteen.

Why do I think that the PC brigade are not going to like this.

Better yet, they actually ought to teach the cows to smoke AND use tobacco oil in their deep fryers. Mmmm McCancer Grease.

McD's, putting the "Food" back in "Food poisoning".

JML, I'm appointing you deputy assistent vice president with direct responsibilty for developing cigarettes for bovines, don't forget the tricky non-opposable thumbs issue !

Now we need a plan to put low grade nuclear waste in the egg mcmuffins. I'm thinking "Three Mile Island breakfast special".

Dennys has that, its called "Moons over My Hammy". Its really greap, cheap, greasy and tasty, when it doesnt make you sick.

But they make you choose between hash browns and grits !

Isn't that against the 7th and half amendment or something ?

Now all we need to do is ban McDonalds!

Nah you can get both, just costs extra...but extra at dennys is like 1,00.

The sort of people who go into Starbucks are very unlikely to be smokers anyway IMO.

I wandered through Burger King at the weekend at Ostbahnhof and noticed it has been made non smoking there too, when it opened for WC2006 it was a smoking joint.

That makes sense, smoking joints don't last very long, maaaan.

Maybe something to do with passive smoking priming children for addiction, children often not having much say in where they go for meals, or the fact that children are more likely to get ill as a result of inhaling second-hand smoke.

Like McDonalds worry about priming children for addiction ?

Totally agree that McD's primes kids for junk-food addiction. My response though was to a comment which didn't specifically refer to McD's.

I agree with DDBug it's a matter of choice. A child can not choose or at the very least make an informed decision which air it breathes, an adult can.

No offence meant, I'm sure

none taken

What's ASBO? I must be one, because my daughter is not always home on the dot of 8. Usually, but not always. Why do you always have to be so judgmental, gideon? If it's not childless people you're after, it's people with kids who deal with them differently than you.

Starbuck's is smoke-free already, everyone.

An ASBO is an Anti Social Behaviour Order, basically a court order taken out for persistent infringement of local authority rules or laws, like truancy or vandalism or noise pollution.

Thanks for the clarification, bluedave.

I'd still like to hear from gideon on what that has to do with me as a parent.

kids are little beings under 10 years. for clarification. so you let your nine year old hang out at macdonalds in stachus at 9:30pm on a friday?


yes i'm after childless people, i hunt them at night armed with my fertility gun and baby net, all i can say is "cupid was a woss". dont be such a numptie, i deal with my children my way you do it yours but any parent who allows their children (see clarification above) to hang around at a macdonalds at that time of night unaccompanied can not complain about it being smokey can they? it is allowed to become an adult enviroment after 8pm as far as i am concerned and not an extended playtime hang out area for preteens. that is why i consider this ban wrong.

nothing as its pretty much allways used in a jocular fashion most of the time. an asbo being about as effective as a lead balloon.

Good for them. I find the attitude to smoking in Germany is a disgrace. The french have reduced, but not germany. Nearly every German I know smokes and I find their attitude to it like Britain in the 50s/60s.
They are years behind.

Now THAT is the funniest thing i have read in weeks on this forum !!!

Someone from Norfolk claiming other people are years behind . . .

So is McDonalds in Britain completely non Smoking? Just for balance hardly any of my German friends smoke, sadly that can't be said for their children. Teenage smoking does seem to be a big problem here.

What I meant about kids having more rights was more along this line:

I ask someone not to smoke around me, they think I'm intolerant.
I ask someone not to smoke around a kid, they say oh certainly, sorry.

Why does a kid have more of a right to clean air than I do? I want the same consideration.

I'm going to start telling people "please don't smoke around me, I'm pregnant."

Well, ADE will have a new place to hang out in now I suppose

All smoking in public places will be banned from spring 2007 in GB.

Whats wrong with Norfolk.?

My local pub has been totaly non smoking for 9 months. Its great.

Its steak and ale pie is the best I have ever tasted with NO smoke.

Eat your heart out Germany. ( oh I am back next week )

You'll find when they get around to putting a roof on it the smoke will tend to stay inside the building more.

Why are you dragging me into this? Not enough entertainment where you're at?

so its not the childs fault gen. why phrase the satement in such an anti-child way? anyways a little smoke will not do anyone any harm. and its bloody ironic that the worlds biggest fried food seller is suddenly worried about whht is in all honesty a non existant problem. kids being fat and not doing any sport is going to be more a burden on our health system in the next few decades.

Thanks, now I have coffee all over my keyboard . As I am from Norfolk also that really made me laugh.

I thought that McD'd were already non smoking? I have never been in one that you can smoke in, mind you I have only ever been in 2.

Aside from the arguments about the dangers of passive smoke, etc, this statement is just not true. Plenty of people are seriously harmed by cigarette smoke. Others simply have allergic reactions to it. I personally suspect that many of the additives make this worse. So I will assume that when you said it will not do anyone harm, that you were generalizing, and not claiming this as an absolute fact.

your right in your presumption. i believe we non smokers can get really witch hunty about this, and as i sadi in my first post in all my times in maccy d's ive never felt put to by smokers. infact i've always considerd them very good and fair and tollerant in their segregation. true there are those who have an allergic reation, but the same can be said for nut oil. but in these exteme cases it is up to the individual to avoid such scenarios where they may come in contact with the substances. agreed passive smoking is a pretty much proven danger, but as you may see i said a little smoke. not a constant flow of the stuff.

I think it is realy dissapointing that the German government is not going to ban smoking in all public areas.

I think is says everything you need to know about Germany, it is in the past.

We are looking forward to the ban in England. Having said that many places are now non smoking already.

Can you smoke in a German cinema. ?

I go to the movies a lot, and I have never been in a cinema here that allows smoking, in the theatre, but they all seem to allow it in the lobby.
When I saw Lord of the Rings (final movie, whatever it was called), there was an intermission, and most everyone went into the lobby and lit up. I had to hold my breath on the way to the toilet.

No.