Thank You For Not Smoking

State health ministers meeting in the northern city of Hanover on Friday agreed rules that would protect restaurant patrons and employees from second-hand smoke but still allow designated, closed-off smoking areas.

The general smoking ban would cover restaurants and cafes, nightclubs, theaters, cinemas, museums and play centers for children as well as public buildings.

However two of the most populous states, Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia, insisted on the right to create legislation that would allow proprietors to specifically cater to smokers.

The deal struck after weeks of wrangling must now be approved at a meeting of state leaders on March 22.

"A major step forward"

Federal health minister Ulla Schmidt welcomed the agreement as "a major step forward for health protection," while consumer affairs minister Horst Seehofer hailed a "long overdue measure."

Germany's left-right coalition government was forced in December to abandon proposals for a nationwide ban on smoking in public places which would have included restaurants and schools although not bars.

The interior and justice ministries feared that such a ban would contravene the constitution which gives broad legislative powers to the country's federal states.

Germany is widely regarded as a smokers' paradise in Europe because of its lax legislation.

In the European Union, Ireland, Norway, Malta, Italy and Spain have banned smoking in bars, restaurants and other public places. Britain and France have also passed legislation or decrees to

ban smoking in designated areas.