MUNICH, Germany — Stop by for a drink at the Roosevelt bar and you’ll be asked: “Do you have a membership?” It’s not an exclusive door policy — just a way to get around Bavaria’s ban on smoking in bars, restaurants and other public places.
As Germany’s state governments join a Europe-wide trend of banishing smokers to the sidewalks, members-only smokers clubs, which are exempt from the new regulations, are popping up.
At the Roosevelt Classic Smoking Bar, there’s no screening process and joining is free. New members are immediately issued a numbered card.
Germany has banned smoking nationwide in government buildings but leaves jurisdiction of bars, restaurants and other public places to the nation’s 16 states.
Most have passed some kind of smoking restrictions. But these have been watered down by local courts or creative bar owners who find ways to allow their patrons to keep on puffing.
Since Bavaria adopted its smoking ban in January, more than 50 establishments have declared themselves private clubs, requiring patrons to sign up for membership in exchange for the right to light up.
Courts in Rhineland-Palatinate and Saxony ruled that single-room bars and restaurants were unfairly penalized under laws requiring establishments to have separate rooms for smokers. In Saarland, a court ruled that smoking could continue in hookah bars.
According to the World Health Organization, a third of German adults are smokers. That’s a lower rate than Austria, where almost half the population smokes. But it means Germany is one of the heaviest-smoking countries in Europe, along with a cluster of Eastern European nations.
Anti-smoking lobbyists are appalled by Bavaria’s private clubs. But Roosevelt’s owner, Kai Uthoff, insists smoking has been a cornerstone of the bar’s ambiance since he opened it nine years ago.
“I wanted to offer three things: smoking, drinks and good music,” he said as the sounds of John Coltrane’s “Blue Train” drifted through the narrow room. “Without one, it doesn’t work.”
