German plans for a uniform smoking ban in public places appear to be in chaos as Germany’s 16 states fail to agree on common restrictions following the collapse of a nationwide bid, a newspaper has said.

“Smoking ban chaos,” the Bild am Sonntag newspaper declared in a headline on Sunday and said there was discord between the states over smoking limits.

“Bavaria announces tough new rules but other states are banking on voluntary measures.”

Efforts to introduce a nationwide smoking ban collapsed last week as Germany’s justice and home affairs ministries questioned the constitutional basis for a ban in restaurants and schools, which would have brought Germany in line with the EU.

The decision followed six months of debate in the left-right grand coalition and was a blow for Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Instead, the country’s federal states will be responsible for their own rules on smoking, a habit which over a third of German adults continue to indulge despite the health risks.

Merkel will now attempt to get the states to agree to uniform regulations at a meeting on Wednesday, but opinions on a smoking ban in public places vary.

“After what happened in Berlin we will of course act in Bavaria in the interests of health,” Bavarian Premier Edmund Stoiber told the Bild am Sonntag. “That means there will be smoking bans in all public buildings and restaurants.”

Smokers visiting Munich, Bavaria’s capital, for the famous Oktoberfest would be spared, however. “There will be exceptions, such as the beer tent for example,” Stoiber said.

The states of Lower Saxony, Thuringia and Saarland are banking on voluntary solutions to the problem, wary of creating the impression of a “nanny” state. Smoking is a cherished sign of tolerance in Germany after a tobacco clampdown by the Nazis.

“The state should not get involved in every aspect of life and should not create bans where people should be taking responsibility for what they do in their free time,” said Christian Wulff, conservative premier of Lower Saxony.

Anti-smoking campaigners said the government had buckled under tobacco industry pressure by ditching a nationwide ban.

“The route chosen by the government is not suited to the uniform protection of non-smokers,” Social Democrat politician Carola Reimann told the Berliner Zeitung. Italy, France, Ireland and Britain have introduced or agreed to introduce restrictions.

Close to 140,000 Germans die each year from tobacco-related illnesses, but the government has little financial incentive to crack down as it collects billions of euros in tobacco taxes.

Source: Stuff.co.nz