According to a last minute email from The Smoker’s Club, European Regional Director, Wiel Maessen, we have some GOOD NEWS from the Dutch!
They have just had elections, and the party (VVD: The People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy) that is the strongest critic of their smoking ban has now officially captured the most seats of any party in their parliament!
They have just had elections, and the party (VVD: The People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy) that is the strongest critic of their smoking ban has now officially captured the most seats of any party in their parliament!
One of their party’s speakers actually gave a rousing presentation to the TICAP conference in March and it looks like we may all have the Dutch Boy to thank for sticking his finger in the antismoking dike and sinking it! (Well, ok, technically he saved the dike from sinking. Well, ok, not really from sinking but from being sunk. Well, ok, not re… you get the general idea: YAY for the Dutch!)
Meanwhile, the party seen as the chief supporters/engineers of the ban, the Christian Democrats got DESTROYED! They went from holding 41 seats down to 21 seats!
According to Wiel, “It’s practically certain now that the blanket smoking ban (though DSR’s were allowed) will be amended so that small pubs can allow smoking again. The small pubs have been fighting the smoking ban because they are not able to install DSRs because of size or financial reasons, leaving them at a competitive disadvantage to the bigger bars.”
A side note: As you’ll read in the linked article below, heavy rains caused the lowest voter turnout in years: just 74% of eligible voters voted. Heh… when was the last time you saw an American election that ever managed to get 74% of eligible voters to the polls?
Meanwhile, the party seen as the chief supporters/engineers of the ban, the Christian Democrats got DESTROYED! They went from holding 41 seats down to 21 seats!
According to Wiel, “It’s practically certain now that the blanket smoking ban (though DSR’s were allowed) will be amended so that small pubs can allow smoking again. The small pubs have been fighting the smoking ban because they are not able to install DSRs because of size or financial reasons, leaving them at a competitive disadvantage to the bigger bars.”
A side note: As you’ll read in the linked article below, heavy rains caused the lowest voter turnout in years: just 74% of eligible voters voted. Heh… when was the last time you saw an American election that ever managed to get 74% of eligible voters to the polls?
