As of May 1 2018 smoking in restaurants and bars will be prohibited. The restrictions on smoking in the workplace will also be tightened as of this date.
Austria is one of the last European countries not to have fully banned smoking in public spaces. Arguably, public health will benefit from the full ban coming into force on May 1 2018.
Likewise, the increased workplace protection for non-smokers was long overdue, although the new provisions still afford some leeway to employers in that they can organise smoking breakrooms. As a consequence, the workplace may be more smoker friendly than pubs – who would have imagined that.
