Alliance says Swiss should stub out
More than 40 organisations have come together to demand a nationwide smoking ban. They launched a campaign in Bern on Monday.
Up to now, around half of Switzerland’s 26 cantons have introduced restrictions on smoking, but the rules differ from region to region, with some places allowing smoking in smaller restaurants and bars.
The alliance consists of organisations from the health and medicine fields, as well as consumer protection, youth and parents’ groups.
It says the only way to prevent passive smoking is to introduce a ban for all publicly accessible rooms, for example, in restaurants, bars, schools and hospitals.
All enclosed workplaces would also be included, and the restrictions would be applied uniformly across the country.
Even though 73 per cent of the Swiss population does not smoke, 20 per cent of them are forced to inhale the smoke of others at least one hour every day, the alliance said.
It has until November 2010 to collect at least 100,000 signatures to force a nationwide vote on the issue.
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