First smoking zones set up in Swiss train stations
Soon as rare a sight at stations as a late Swiss train?
Keystone
The clouds of cigarette smoke at Swiss train stations are slowly lifting. Or at least being relocated. On Tuesday four stations were equipped with designated smoking zones.
This content was published on
2 minutes
Keystone-SDA/ts
Português
pt
Instaladas as primeiras zonas para fumantes nas estações ferroviárias suíças
The plan is for almost 1,000 stations to be converted by the end of October and all stations across the country by mid-2020.
Despite ashtrays on platforms, two-thirds of cigarette butts still land on the tracks, the Public Transport Union said on TuesdayExternal link. That’s 550 kilograms a day or 200 tonnes a year. The smoking zones should help to reduce this pollution and make the air and atmosphere in stations more pleasant for passengers, it added.
Smoking will be allowed only in marked areas on platforms and in front of stations. Two smoking zones per platform are planned for large stations with long platforms. Mid-sized stations will have one on the platform, and small stations will have smoking areas at the entrances.
The transport union had rejected a total smoking ban in stations because it “didn’t want to upset anyone”. The goal was maximum customer satisfaction, it said.
However, for the time being there is no legal framework for fining smokers who don’t stick to the zones. The project is based on “the entrepreneurial freedom of transport companies, not on a legal mandate”, the transport union said.
Transport companies are only “encouraged” to implement the scheme, it added.
The first stations to have smoking zones are Burgdorf, Lyssach, Hindelbank and Schönbühl, all in canton Bern.
More
More
Demographics
Does smoking in public affect Swiss tourism?
This content was published on
Cigarette smoke makes many visitors to Switzerland see red. How concerned is the tourism industry?
This content was published on
The wage gap between married mothers and fathers in Switzerland is significantly worse than that between single woman and men.
This content was published on
The new "Swiss Football Home" football campus is being built in Thun. The centre, based on an international model, will include pitches for the senior national teams and the headquarters of the Swiss Football Association.
Report identifies gaps in Swiss anti-racism and anti-Semitism measures
This content was published on
Among other things, there are gaps in criminal and civil law protection against racism on the internet, a report published on Tuesday suggests.
Swiss lab finds toxic substances in Philip Morris e-cigarette
This content was published on
Highly toxic substances escape from the filters of IQOS electronic cigarettes produced by the Swiss-based tobacco manufacturer Philip Morris.
Lure of e-cigarettes for schoolchildren raises alarm
This content was published on
This is a higher rate than for smokers of conventional cigarettes. The figure for vaping was 21% for boys and 13% for girls. The addiction surveyExternal link, conducted last year, included the e-cigarette and vaping categories for the first time. “Vaping should not become normal consumer behaviour among young people,” said Grégoire Vittoz, director of…
Swiss train stations to implement new anti-smoking rules
This content was published on
Following a test phase, Swiss train stations will proceed with a plan to restrict smoking to a maximum of two designated smoking zones per platform.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.