Overview
- The state amended its non-smoker protection law effective 1 June to ban cigarettes, e-cigarettes, vapes and shishas at many outdoor public places including Freibäder, playgrounds, bus and tram stops, zoos and amusement parks.
- Violations carry fines of up to €200 for a first offence and up to €500 for repeat offenders under the new law.
- Many Freibad operators had already introduced bans or set aside clearly marked smoker areas at the start of the bathing season before the law took effect.
- Tübingen mayor Boris Palmer said the city will not actively enforce the new ban at bus stops and will only install signs, citing unclear rules on how to measure prohibited zones and estimated municipal costs of roughly half a million euros.
- North Rhine-Westphalia has no comparable statewide ban and continues to rely on individual pool house rules enforced by staff, which creates uneven protection and enforcement across cities.