Bans on Smoking Unpopular in Germany 30/5/00 The German government would obviously be well advised to keep a low profile when it comes to matters that involve smoking. According to a recent Infratest Burke study, only 24% of non-smokers and 4% of smokers say that they are in favour of bans on smoking prescribed by law. Moreover, only 27% of non-smokers and 7% of smokers would like to see the government playing an active role in finding compromises between the interests of smokers and non-smokers. On the other hand, 88% of non-smokers and 97% of smokers think that it is the free decision of an individual whether to smoke or not. Furthermore, 91% of smokers and 70% of non-smokers say that both groups should be able to live together without governmental interference. These are the key findings of a recent study on attitudes towards smoking in Germany carried out by Infratest Burke. Between November and December 1999 Infratest Burke asked 2,002 adults nationwide about their attitudes and their behaviour towards smoking. The study has been conducted since 1987 in regular intervals. The level of tolerance between both groups has hardly changed over the years. Non-smokers report that they either do not try at all (57%) to convince smokers to quit smoking or to smoke less or that they do not try very hard (23%). Vice versa, 60% of smokers say that nobody opposes their smoking and a further 24% report that hardly anyone tries to influence them on their habit. Asked whether they had ever experienced any conflicts with other people because of smoking, 71% of non-smokers, 74% of ex-smokers and 70% of smokers answered no.