Scandinavian restrictions.

 On June 1, 2005, two more countries in Europe, Sweden and Denmark, will be tightening the noose on smokers.

 Sweden.

 Smoking tobacco indoors in restaurants, cafès and bars will be banned everywhere in Sweden. A provision in the law provides owners the option of catering to their smoking customers by creating a non-staffed smoking room or lounge. Considering the severity of Swedish winters, this is at least a form of consideration to smokers.

 Due to massive anti smoking propaganda, probably claiming that everybody dies of ETS, a majority of smokers agree with the prohibition, according to a ‘survey’ conducted on behalf of the National Public Health Institute (Statens Folkhälsöinstitut).

 According to the Swedish newspaper Sydsvenskan the authorities of the city of Malmö are also requesting owners of bars, restaurants and cafès to provide for non-smoking areas when serving outdoors.

 That seems to be a forewarning of what lies ahead, as the anti tobacco zealots in Sweden prepare for their next logical step.

 Denmark.

 Since Denmark is not as ‘advanced’ in the art of demonizing smokers, smoking tobacco will not be banned indoors. Instead a new law decrees that owners of restaurants, cafès, bars and other establishments to post clearly their smoking policies at the entrance of their establishments.

 There are 3 possible policies. One is a smoking prohibition, another is seperation into smoking and non smoking sections and a third is unrestricted smoking.

 While a great many Americans, Canadians, New Zealanders, Norwegians, Swedes, Italians and Irish would undoubtably welcome such a liberal policy, it is nothing more than the slow moving propaganda machine at work.

 Every establishment must now mandatorily post outside its entrance one of 3 standardized ‘smoking policy signs’. The obvious long term effect is to indoctrinate everybody into believing that the smoking issue is one that we must all be obsessed with. People who don’t smoke and who don’t care will be indoctrinated with the idea that it is their ‘right’ to demand ‘smoke free areas’. At some point they will obviously begin to demand their artificially inocculated ‘right’.

 So, for now it seems that smokers in Denmark will be allowed to indugle in their pleasure without too much fuss. But as always, it’s just a prelude to anti tobacco’s next logical step.

  (Source: Berlingske Tidende, May 31, 2005)