A ban on smoking in Austrian bars and restaurants took effect on Friday, which made it one of the last European countries to ban smoking in public places.  

The ban was approved in July by parliamentarians, in order to rid Austria of its status as the "ashtray of Europe." 

Out of the country's 8.8 million inhabitants, a quarter smoke, which is more than the European average of 18%, despite people calling for a ban in the country for more than a decade. 

Only members from the far-right Freedom Party (FPOe) opposed the measure. The FPOe was previously led by a keen smoker, and the party had previously attempted to block smoking in pubs and restaurants when it entered the government in December 2017. 

This provoked a backlash from members of the public and the Austrian medical association, which organised a petition in favor of the ban which gathered signatures from almost 90,000 people, which is equal to around 14% of voters. 

The FPOe left government after a corruption scandal, and led the way for the proposal to be voted against in parliament. 

Up until Friday, smoking was legal in bars and restaurants larger than 540 square feet under the condition that smokers were in a separate area. However, this rule was not always strictly implemented and followed. 

A separate smoking area was not necessary in smaller bars and restaurants if the owner agreed that smoking was allowed on the premises. 

Other bars and restaurants had banned smoking in line with their own regulations. 

Currently in the EU, 17 countries have smoke-free legislation within public spaces, including Ireland, the UK, Greece, Bulgaria, Malta, Spain and Hungary, which have the strictest smoke-free bans on smoking in enclosed public places, on public transport and workplaces, with limited exceptions. 

To learn more about the European Network for Smoking and Tobacco Prevention's research, click on this link.