New minister seeks smoke ban in Austria

The new Austrian Federal Health Minister, Sabine Oberhauser, has said she wants to introduce a total ban on tobacco smoking in pubs and restaurants before the next national elections in 2018.

In a television interview shown by the public service broadcaster ORF last week, on the day she was officially sworn in to her new post, Oberhauser said she hoped to push through legislation her predecessor, Alois Stoeger, had not been able to complete.

She said that despite resistance to the plan, she wanted to protect not only customers but also employees of affected businesses.